PURI: Braving rain, over three lakh devotees participated in the second day of Rath Yatra to pull the three chariots to Gundicha temple.Pulling of chariots was resumed at 9.30 am and Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra was pulled first followed by Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra and Nandighosa of Lord Jagannath. Pulling of all the three chariots was completed by 12.30 pm.
On Sunday, none of the three chariots reached their destination as Taladhwaja chariot reportedly developed cracks in some of its wheels and it took a lot of time to repair. To avoid further damage to the wheels, the chariot was pulled slowly, sources said. Since Taladhwaja was leading the procession, its slow movement delayed movement of the other two chariots. By the time pulling of the chariots was stopped at 6.45 pm, Taladhwaja chariot was near Balagandi, Darpadalana had reached municipal market square and Nandighosha was parked at Goenka Dharmashalla.After staying in the chariots on Monday night, the deities will be taken inside Gundicha temple on Tuesday evening in ‘Pahandi’.
Tribal touch to celebration
Jeypore: The chariot of Lord Jagannath in Jeypore reached Gundicha temple on Monday. Here too, it was drawn a day after the Rath Yatra in Puri. The beautifully decorated deities were brought atop the chariot on Sunday in Pahandi procession and the pulling began on Monday morning. The event was earlier organised by the Jeypore royal family and later, the Endowment Department took over.Chariot of Jagannath temple in Kutia village was also drawn on Monday by tribals. On Sunday, Rath Yatra was celebrated at Sabara Srikhetra in Koraput town with thousands of devotees including tribals participating in the fete. Amid chanting of hymns and beating of drums, the idols were taken out from the temple and placed in the chariot. Wearing their traditional costumes, the tribals pulled the chariot to Gundicha temple which is 200 metres from the Jagannath temple.
Sankhakhetra deities reach aunt’s house
Paradip: A large number of devotees thronged Kunja Bihari temple in Gadakujang on Monday to pull the chariot to Mausi Maa temple. Here, Pahandi Bije and other rituals of the Trinity are performed on the day of Rath Yatra at Puri but pulling of chariot begins next day as it is believed that the deities take rest on the chariot before beginning the journey. Kunja Bihari temple is considered as Sankhakhetra as the deities from Puri shrine were brought here when Muslim invader Kalapahad attacked the Jagannath temple. The temple was later built with funds sanctioned by Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout. This year, the Minister’s son Sandip Rout performed the Chherapahanra. In another incident, two women were injured while pulling the chariot of Baldevjew temple at Sarbant village on Sunday. They are Rangalata Mohapatra and Basantilata Sarangi of Ranapur village.