Religious fervour gripped the coastal town of Puri in Odisha as the grand Ratha Yatra festival commenced on Friday with the holy triad -- Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra -- stepping out of their sanctum sanctorum in the divine ‘Pahandi’ ritual.
The holy siblings along with other deities during the Pahandi ritual are taken from the 12th century shrine to their respective chariots in a grand ceremonial procession with the enthralling and divine sound of traditional musical instruments, like ghanta, kahali and telingi baja.
The celestial weapon of Lord Krishna, Chakraraj Sudarshan, was first brought and placed on the chariot of Goddess Subhadra, later followed by Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and finally Lord Jagannath.
As per tradition, following the completion of the pahandi ritual, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, offer puja to the holy siblings on the chariots. Later, Puri King Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singha Deb offers prayers to the deities and conducts the ceremonial sweeping of the chariots with a golden broom.
After this service offered by the Puri King, the chariots are pulled by the devotees to the Gundicha temple, the birthplace and garden house of Lord Jagannath, around 3km away from the main temple.
Lakhs of devotees on Friday have thronged the holy city of Puri to have a glimpse of Lord Jagannath, elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra and pull their chariots Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Darpadalana respectively.
The devotees filled with pure devotion are chanting the holy name of ‘Jai Jagannath’, ‘Hari Bol’ and dancing in ecstasy. The annual chariot festival is observed on Dwitiya Tithi -- the second day of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the Ashadha month of the Hindu Almanack -- 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."
Various departments of the state government have made elaborate preparations to ensure a smooth and incident-free Rath Yatra. 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, eight companies of the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, etc., and the commandos of National Security Guard (NSG) have been deployed throughout the sacred coastal town to avoid any untoward incident during the Ratha Yatra.
Similarly, around 10,000 personnel of the Odisha Police, Central Armed Police Force and Home Guard have been deployed in Puri and around the city during the Ratha Yatra this year.