“Greatest festival of Supreme Lord is Rath Yatra which happens every year. For last 2 yrs devotees' participation was barred due to pandemic but is allowed this year. Expecting huge public participation today," Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the current titular Gajapati Maharaja and the King of Puri was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The annual Rath Yatra of the holy trinity - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath - is taking place with full public participation after a hiatus of two years due to the pandemic. It will culminate next week on July 9. Tight security has been put in place for the mega event.
“We expect a large gathering of about 10 lakh on Ratha Yatra as people are allowed to participate in the festival after a gap of two years," development commissioner, P K Jena, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik made 125 sand chariots to mark the rath yatra festival that commences from today.
“This time we have created 125 sand chariots to mark the holy rath yatra of Lord Jagannath. It will be our new world record," said Pattnaik.
Earlier, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw along with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inspected preparation for Jagannath Rath Yatra at Puri Railway Station last night.
The Rath Yatra or the 'Chariot Festival' is believed to be as old as the iconic shrine. It’s also said to be a rare festival as deities are taken out of the temple premises. Also the idols are carved out of wood, and not metal. The deities set out for the Yatra along with the celestial wheel - Sudarshana Chakra, which is also removed from the temple during the ceremonial procession.
On their way back to the temple after more than a week, the deities stop for a while near the Mausi Maa Temple (Aunt's abode). Here, they have an offering of the Poda Pitha, said to be a special type of pancake.
Though many think it’s a nine day festival – the onward journey of the Holy Trinity to their maternal aunt Goddess Gundicha Devi’s Temple and culminates with the Return Journey after eight days. In reality the festival stretches from the day of AkhayaTrutiya (in April) and culminates with the Return Journey of the Holy Trinity to the Shree Mandir premises.
Over 180 platoons of armed police personnel, including 1,000 officers of various ranks are deployed in and around Puri with dozens of CCTV cameras in place. The Indian Coast Guard has also been deployed to maintain a vigil.
