Puri: The process for making chariots for Rath Yatra of Lords of Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri town began with a team of servitors leaving for Nayagarh to identify the wood on Monday.
The three-member team carrying ‘Mala’ garlands, ‘Patani’ and ‘Lagiluga’ (dresses) and prasad of Sarapuli, Biripitha and Ladoo left Puri for Badamula in Nayagarh in the morning. The team comprises supervisor of chariot construction Sudarshan Mekap, head of Bhoi servitors Rabi Bhoi and amin Laxman Mahapatra.
The garlands, dresses and prasad will be offered to the deity of Goddess Badaraula temple at Badamula as a gesture of invitation for Rath Yatra. The team from Puri along with the priests of Goddess Badaraula temple will perform puja with all the offerings on Tuesday.
Following the puja, the team will identify Asana, Phasi and Dhaura trees which will be cut for using its wood in making the chariots of sibling deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra of Puri temple.
After the wood logs arrive at Puri, the chariot making work will begin on the day of Ganesh Puja. Normally, 865 pieces of different types of logs are used for construction of the chariots every year.
