In Odisha, the three chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, have reached the Sri Gundicha temple in Puri this afternoon concluding the first leg of the world-famous ‘Rath Yatra’ celebrations. Thousands of devotees pulled the chariots, while lakhs of devotees gathered on the Grand Road of Puri to watch the procession.The Rath Yatra of the sibling deities began yesterday afternoon, but halted a few metres later due to sunset as per the traditions to resume again this morning.The three majestic chariots will remain outside the Sri Gundicha temple tonight and the deities will be taken inside the temple tomorrow in a ceremonial procession. The deities will remain at Sri Gundicha temple for a week and then start their return journey to Sri Mandir which is famously known as the ‘Bahuda Yatra’. This year, the Rath Yatra was a two-day affair due to celestial arrangements, a rarity seen after 1971.
Disclaimer: This press release is sourced from News On AIR, Prasar Bharti and Press Information Bureau India (PIB).