PURI: The Grand Road (Badadanda) in the Pilgrim Town reverberated with the chanting of Jai Jagannath, Vedic hymns and ululations as devotees gathered in large number to catch a glimpse of the Daru for carving Lord Sudarshan which reached here on Friday morning.
Over two lakh devotees marched in a procession while some joined the Daitapatis in pulling the Sagadi to the temple. Several Sankirtan teams, religious flag bearers along with musicians blowing trumpets, beating cymbals and blowing conches led the Daru procession.
The Sagadi with the Daru was taken to Koili Baikuntha through the north gate of the temple. The Daru was then safely placed in the ‘Daru Gruha’, a special enclosure put up for carving the idols of the Trinity and Lord Sudarshan. The temple police would guard the enclosure round the clock.
As per the procedures in the Nabakalebara manual, the Patimahapatra would offer ‘bhog’ to the Daru everyday till the arrival of all Darus.
The Banajagis accompanying the Daru for Lord Sudarshan began their journey from Gadakhuntunia village at Balakati near Bhubaneswar to Puri on Tuesday. The Daru was wrapped with seven layers of silk cloth and tied with ‘Pattabasunga’, a special type of rope to secure it.
On the way to Puri, the Banajagis rested at Batamahavir temple in Pipili on Tuesday night and resumed their journey next afternoon. On Wednesday, they arrived at Biragobindpur and made the night halt at a Shiva temple. On Thursday, they reached Puri and stayed near Alamchandi temple near Atharnalla for the night. On Friday, the cart started rolling at about 8.30 am and it took the Banajagis about two hours to reach the Jagannath temple.
A team of 14 Banajagis, led by Nabakishore Patimahapatra, participated in the journey from Gadakhuntunia to Puri covering a distance of 52 kms. While adequate security arrangements were made by police along the route, the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration made provisions for the stay of the Banajagis.