Devotees rejoice as three chariots reach Saradhabali in Puri
Bhubaneswar, (Orissa Today), July 8: The annual nine-day sojourn of the Lords began at 5 pm on Sunday but paused after sunset as per tradition on the Grand Road connecting the temple to the 12th century shrine. The chariot pulling resumed this morning. Lord Balabhadra atop Taladwaja reached Sharadhabali around 1 pm, followed by Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana and Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosh around 2:35 pm.
Rituals atop the chariots began shortly before servitors escorted the deities to the temple for a week-long stay. The Lords will offer darshan to devotees on Adapa Mandap until their return journey to their abode.
This year’s Rath Yatra was a unique two-day event, featuring three rituals—Netra Utsav, Nabajaubana Darshan, and Rath Yatra—conducted on the same day, a celestial alignment last observed 53 years ago in 1971.
On Sunday, President Droupadi Mumu, Governor Raghubar Das, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan symbolically initiated the procession by pulling the ropes after wooden horses were attached to the chariots. Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik also paid homage to the sibling deities.
The Rath Yatra is the only occasion when Lord Jagannath leaves his sacred abode to offer darshan to people of all faiths, as access to the temple is typically restricted to Hindus on regular days.
