Puri: Lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad gathered at Odisha’s Puri as the chariot pulling resumed on Saturday morning as part of the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.
A sea of devotees burst into ecstasy as the majestic chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath again began rolling on the Grand Road towards the Gundicha Temple today.
The three chariots had stopped midway after sunset on Friday following prolonged delay.
Soaked in devotion, the devotees, security personnel and servitors pulled the chariots of three deities amid sounds of gongs, conches and chants of ‘Jai Jagannath and ‘Hari Bol’.
Lord Balabhadra’s chariot Taladhwaja started moving forward from Balagandi Chhak, where it was halted yesterday. The chariots carrying Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra moved afterwards.
Earlier in the morning, rituals like Mangala Aarti were completed atop the chariots during the Rath Yatra proceedings.
With the resumption of chariot pulling in Puri, an overwhelming aura of devotion has enveloped the Bada Danda as the sibling deities resumed their journey for a nine-day sojourn to the Gundicha Temple.
The three chariots — Nandighosha, Darpadalan and Taladhwaja — were halted midway on Friday evening. While Lord Balabhadra’s chariot Taladhwaja and Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalan chariots covered some distance on the Grand Road, Nandighosha chariot carrying Lord Jagannath had moved only a short distance. It remain stationed close to the Singhadwara of the 12th century shrine.
After sunset, the chariot pulling was halted and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) decided to resume the activities in the morning. A large number of devotees were able to have divine darshan of the Lords seated on respective chariots throughout the night.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan declared the Ratha Yatra as incident-free this year, whereas several mishaps were reported.
As per sources, more than 600 devotees had to be rushed to hospitals after they sustained injuries and illness due to overcrowding and protracted delay in the pulling of chariots. Many of them complained of suffocation, nausea, fatigue and giddiness. Similarly, around seven journalists covering the Rath Yatra proceedings were reportedly injured after being allegedly assaulted by police personnel.
