Ahmedabad: Gujarat celebrated Rath Yatra in style at the Jagannath Temple located in Adalaj, between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.
With the weather being pleasant, around 15,000 devotees gathered to witness the festival which was hosted by Shree Jagannath Cultural Academy and Research Centre (JCARC), the temple management body.
The holy day kicked off at dawn with religious rituals like Mangala Arati, Abakash, Mailam, Worshipping Sun, Praying Gatekeepers and Sahana Mela being performed by the servitors.
Around 10 am, the four deities were taken in Pahandi to the colourfully-decorated 22-feet high chariot. The air was filled with recital of hymns, chanting of slogans like Haribol, Jai Jagannath and playing of musical instruments.
The special attraction of the festival was the Pahandi journey of Goddess Subhadra being conducted exclusively by women.
Gujarat Revenue minister Rajendra S. Trivedi, Chairman of JCARC Dr Sudeep Kumar Nanda and Municipal Commissioner of Surat Banchhanidhi Pani performed the traditional sweeping of the chariot, or Cherrapahanra.
The chariot was pulled along a 6 km stretch till Shani Temple, Swami Narayan Temple and Tree Temple before being brought back to the temple premises at 4 pm.
Thereafter, the deities were placed in a pandal at the community hall of the temple.
People can have darshan of Gods and Goddess till Niladri Bije day, informed JCARC member secretary Badri Mahapatra.
The festival was arranged and conducted by the trustees and committee members of the temple, including Chairman Dr Sudeep Kumar Nanda, Member Secretary Badri Mahapatra, members Hare Krushna Dash, Maheshwar Sahu, Dr Nibedita Sahu, Leela Das, Rabi Panda, Ashok Samal, Satya Mishra, Narayan Swain, Ajay Das, Mahendra Das, Rohit Nayak, Nigmananda Das, Basant Panda and Ganesh Nayak.
