Ahead of the Bahuda Yatra, the Dhaknimoda of the chariots began on Thursday at Sharadhabali near the Gundicha Temple.
The Dhakhinimoda is colloquial term prevailing in the Jagannath culture meaning ‘turn chariots to south’. On the Shree Ggundicha, three chariots had moved ahead in north direction from the lions’ Gate, which would turn to south to get ready for the Bahuda Yatra scheduled next Sunday.
By pulling the chariots forward and then pushing backward, the rear wheels are set to aim at south direction.
The process is very hard, which takes two days to complete. After three chariots turn to south, they are placed in front of Nakachanadwar (second door) of the Gundicha Temple. During the to and fro motion, more often some wheels face breakages, which are repaired by the Maharana sevayats (carpenters).
At the Sharadhabali, a vast space in front of the Gundicha Temple, thousands of people on Thursday participated in Dhakhinimoda amidst hymns of Jay Jagannath. As the Dahukas (crews) waved canes, the pilgrims pulled the chariots and pushed backward as per direction of experts.
To make it easy, Sharadhabali was filled with huge sands to ensure that the wheels did not slip or break down. Earlier, as the ground area was full of hard soil and sand, there was no problem to wheel at all.
However, the problem has arisen since 2006 after the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) took control of the Sharadhabali and turned it to a concrete road. As per information, two chariots such as Taladhwaj and Devadalan have moved to south and landed near Nakchanadwara by Thursday evening.
Movement of Nandighosh, the chariot of lord Jagannath, was still underway, informed a Jaganath Temple official.