Puri: President Droupadi Murmu, Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries arrived in Puri on Sunday to witness the world famous Rath Yatra of Lords of Shree Jagannath Temple.
Former CM and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik also joined them. Dharmendra invited and escorted him to the dais after he arrived at the venue.
This is the second occasion in less than a month when Naveen is sharing the stage with BJP leaders of the state. He had earlier attended his successor’s oath-taking ceremony in Bhubaneswar on June 13.
Meanwhile, Puri Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb performed Chherapanhara, the ceremonial sweeping of the chariots, after the sibling deities were taken atop the three chariots – Nandighosh, Taladhwaja and Darpadalana – in ‘Pahandi Bije’. Following this, the wooden horses will be fixed to the chariots. The Yatra will begin at around 5 pm after the Sarathis (charioteers) are mounted on to the three chariots.
Also Read: Jagannath Rath Yatra: Pahandi Ritual Of Lords Underway In Odisha’s Puri [Watch]
A large number of devotees have gathered in the pilgrim town for darshan of Lords. This year, the event will be held over two days due to a unique celestial alignment with ‘Nabajouban Darshan’ and ‘Netra Utsav’ being observed on the same day along with Rath Yatra. While Nabajouban Darshan’ symbolises the youthful appearance of the deities after ‘Anasara’ (quarantine) period, deities’ eyeballs are freshly painted by priests during ‘Netra Utsav’. As per the temple almanac, the stipulated 15-day Anasar period of the deities was reduced to 13.
With the vital rituals being performed on the same day, the pulling of chariots has been delayed than usual. Since chariots are not pulled after sunset as per tradition, these will be rolled to a short distance on Sunday. The pulling of chariots will resume on Monday morning and taken to Gundicha temple, where the Lords will spend the next eight days before returning to their abode.
Rath Yatra was last held for two days in 1971.
