Bhubaneswar, June 27: A massive crowd of devotees has gathered at Puri’s Jagannath Temple for Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra that will commence on Friday. Jagannath Rath Yatra, also known as the Chariot Festival or Shree Gundicha Yatra, is a major Hindu festival celebrated annually in Odisha.
Significance and spiritual importance of Rath Yatra
It is observed on Dwitiya Tithi — the second day of the (Shukla Paksha) of the lunar month — a time considered spiritually auspicious due to the increasing brightness of the moon. Renowned scholar on Jagannath culture, Suryanarayan Rath Sharma, speaking on the Rath Yatra, told IANS, “The Rath Yatra is the most ancient chariot festival in the world… It is believed that having darshan of Lord Jagannath during this Yatra grants a devotee moksha.”
Chariot Journey from Jagannath Temple to Gundicha Temple
The devotees have gathered by the millions for the famous Ratha Yatra, as Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra, and sister Subhadra prepare to embark on their nine-day sojourn from their abode, the 12th-century shrine, to Gundicha Temple today. Devotees, gripped with ecstasy, will pull the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra — Nandighosh, Taladhwaja, and Darpadalan respectively — for around 3 km to the Gundicha Temple, believed by some legends to be the birthplace of the Chaturddha Murti (Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Maa Subhadra, and Sudarshan).
Preparations and security measures for smooth celebrations
Various departments of the state government have made elaborate preparations to ensure a smooth and incident-free Rath Yatra. “We are fully prepared for the grand Rathayatra. All rituals and arrangements have been meticulously planned and will be carried out with equal dedication. I seek the blessings of Mahaprabhu and the cooperation of all devotees to ensure a smooth and sacred celebration,” said Sidharth Shankar Swain, Collector, Puri earlier on Thursday.
The holy city of Puri has been placed under a five-tiered security blanket for the nine-day-long Rath Yatra festival. As many as 200 platoons of police force and eight companies of the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, etc., have been deployed throughout the sacred coastal town for the Ratha Yatra.
Similarly, around 10,000 personnel of Odisha police, Central Armed Police Force and Home Guard have been deployed in Puri and around the city during the Ratha Yatra this year. The police officers stationed at integrated command-and-control system, set up for the first time this year, and other sub-control rooms will keep a watch on traffic and crowd movements through live feeds from around 275 AI-enabled CCTVs installed from Uttara Square to Puri Town, in the town and from Puri to Konark.
Stampede in Ahmedabad as elephant goes out of control in Rath Yatra
An elephant went out of control during Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad at 10 am on Friday. After this, there was a stampede in the Rath Yatra. People were seen running here and there. It was walking in the front of a group of 17 elephants in the Rath Yatra. The forest department staff controlled it. Currently, 3 elephants have been removed from the Rath Yatra, which include two female elephants and one male elephant. Now, 14 out of 17 elephants will take part in the Rath Yatra. These 3 elephants will no longer be taken along in the Rath Yatra. The Rath Yatra will begin from the temple located in Jamalpur and return to the same temple by evening.
The Jagannath Yatra started at 7 am in Ahmedabad. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel started the Rath Yatra by performing Pahind Vidhi. The three idols of the Lord were seated on the chariot between 5 and 6 in the morning. In this, a gold broom is placed in front of the chariot. The Lord will return to the temple at around 8:30 pm.
Earlier, Mangala Aarti was held at 4 am in the Jagannath temple. Home Minister Amit Shah and his family also attended the event. During this time, khichdi was offered to the Lord. In Puri, the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra will be pulled at 4 pm. In Udaipur, the Lord will ride in a chariot made of about 80 kg silver.
In Puri, the Lord will sit in the chariot at 1 o’clock, the chariot will start at 4 o’clock
The world’s largest Rath Yatra takes place in Odisha. After the Mangala Aarti of Lord Jagannath at 6 am, he was adorned. Then Khichdi was offered as Prasad. After the daily rituals and rituals, the rituals of bringing the Lord out of the temple began at 9:30 am. After worshipping the chariots, Balabhadra, sister Subhadra and Lord Jagannath will be seated in the chariot.
At 3 pm, Gajapati Divya Singh Dev of the Puri royal family will start the Rath Yatra by sweeping the front of the chariot with a golden broom. In this, Lord Jagannath along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra goes to the Gundicha temple about 3 km away. This is believed to be his aunt’s house.
Odisha ADG Sanjay Kumar said- We estimate that 10 to 12 lakh devotees have come for today’s Rath Yatra. Appropriate arrangements have been made for crowd management for the safety of the people.