A million witness the grand spectacle
The chariots of the three deities lord Jagannath, lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra reached Saradhabali near their destination, Shree Gundicha Temple, here on Sunday evening as the Rath Yatra ended peacefully.
While the Taladhwaja chariot of lord Balabhadra arrived at Saradhabali at around 6 pm, the Darpadalala chariot of Devi Subhadra reached five minutes later. The Nandighosh of lord Jagannath was the last to reach the destination point.
Nearly a million devotees from Odisha and outside thronged the holy city and enthusiastically participated in the mega annual festival braving humidity and heat.
Elaborate security and other arrangements were made to ensure smooth conduct of the festival. Though the early rituals of the lords were delayed by nearly two hours, the subsequent ones were completed in time.
The administration had taken special measures to ensure that no devotee climbed to the Raths and touched the deities. For that, a three-layer security cover was placed around the three chariots. The administration strictly implemented the State High Court judgment in this regard by upholding the decision of Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.
The Shankaracharya preferred not to participate in the festival protesting the derogatory treatment by the temple administration and some servitors. A notable scene was that Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb went up to the Raths with servitors on duty to perform the Chhera Pahanra (sweeping of the chariots by a golden broom).
On the midway through the chariot pulling, the lord Jagannath enjoyed the delicious cake Podapitha baked by Mousima before proceeding to the Gundicha Temple.
Chief Minister Naven Patnaik, Governor SC Jamir, Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan and a number of Justices of State High Court and the Supreme Court were present during the festival.
