Annual procession of Lord Jagannath, siblings begins

IANS

Bhubaneswar/Gandhinagar

Amid the Covid-19 restrictions Rath Yatra 2021 began on Monday at the famous Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha. Lord Jagannath and his siblings were placed in their chariots after performing ‘pahandi’ rituals.

With chants of “Hari Bol” and “Jai Jagannath” the three deities — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra — came down from the ‘Ratna Simhasan’ and boarded the chariots for the annual sojourn.

The ‘Pahandi Bije’ was started with Lord Balabhadra, followed by Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath. Servitors escorted the idols of the deities from ‘Ratna Simhasan’ to their chariots — Taladhwaja, Darpadalana and Nandighosa — in a ceremonial procession. The ‘Pahandi Bije’ ritual was completed before schedule.

Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha performed ‘Chhera pahara’, the ceremony in which he sweeps all chariots, one after another. The chariot pulling also began with Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja.

In view of the Covid-19 restrictions, the annual festival was conducted without the participation of devotees.

Millions of devotees in Odisha and across the world, witnessed the ceremony on their TV sets, mobile phones and computers during the live telecast and streaming of the rituals and procession.

Tight security arrangements have been put in place for the smooth completion of the Rath Yatra. Section 144 was imposed on the entire stretch of the Grand Road and a curfew-like situation prevailed in the pilgrim town. All entry points to Bada Danda and roads leading to Puri were sealed.

In Ahmedabad too the traditional Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra encompassing 19 kilometres was taken out amid a curfew on the route with only five vehicles, including three chariots allowed.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani performed the ancient ritual — ‘Pahind Vidhi’, cleaning the way for the chariot by using a golden broom, thus marking the commencement of the 144th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Ahmedabad.

Before the annual Rath Yatra started, Union Home Minister Amit Shah performed the “Mangla Aarti” (auspicious ritual to pay obeisance to Lord) of the deities in the temple at 4 am.

The Rath Yatra is taken out every year on the auspicious day of Ashadhi Bij, the second day of Ashadh month, as per the Hindu calendar.

This was for the fifth time in a row that CM Rupani has carried out the Pahind ritual. The deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and the Gujarat Minister of Home, Pradeepsinh Jadeja were also present at the Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur.

“Due to the corona outbreak, this year’s Rath Yatra has been planned following the Covid-19 protocols. After having a ‘Darshan’ of the Lord, I prayed that may the Lord free the country and state from the corona outbreak. We pray that things return to normalcy as soon as possible,” the CM said.

The Gujarat CM also congratulated and greeted the Kutchi community who are celebrating the beginning of their New Year.

Looking at the current situation of corona times, the Gujarat government decided to permit this year’s conventional Ahmedabad Rath Yatra with a provision of curfew on route and ban on Prasad distribution and the yatra to be carried out in a limited way in place of the earlier giant processions.

The Rath Yatra was allowed with only five vehicles consisting of ‘Nishan’, ‘Danka’, three Raths of the Lord, brother Balram and sister Subhadra and the Mahant/Trustee’s vehicle. The entire route was effected with a curfew imposed till the conclusion of the Yatra.

Khalasi youths, who conventionally pull the three Raths, were vaccinated and permitted only after RT-PCR negative results. A total of 60 youths have been permitted to pull the three chariots.

For the second time in its 144-year history, Ahmedabad’s renowned event was held without the accompaniment of troupes, tableaux and public participation in view of the coronavirus outbreak. Last year too the Rath Yatra was allowed in a symbolic manner, where it only circumvented inside the temple premises.

Traditionally, the procession, led by chariots, would start early in the morning from the 400-year-old temple and return by late evening. It used to take a one-hour break at Saraspur for lunch.

Lakhs of people used to gather along the route on ‘Ashadhi Beej’ every year to catch a glimpse of the decorated elephants and tableaux moving around in some 100 trucks.