Lord Lingaraj’s Boat Ride On Chandan Jatra

Bhubaneswar: The Bindusagar Lake in Odisha capital lit up for Chandan Jatra of Lord Lingaraj on Wednesday, the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.

Devotees thronged the Old Town area to participate in the grand procession of the deities in palanquins. The deities were then taken to the beautifully decorated boat called ‘Chapa’, which was rowed around the tank by the sevaks.

The day also marks the beginning of preparations for Ratha Jatra in Puri. The logs for chariots are consecrated with agyan mala (garland of permission of Lord Jagannath) and once the priests completed the rituals of ratha anukula, carpenters got down to the initial work at Ratha Khala near the Jagannath Temple.

Jewellery shops in urban areas were chock-a-block with customers as buying gold on this day is considered auspicious. Shops too tried to lure people with discounts and other attractive gifts on purchase.

However, Akshaya Tritiya is more of an agrarian festival, where farmers offer prayers to Mother Earth for a good harvest and sow seeds ceremonially, which is locally known as muthi anukula or akhi mutha.