PURI: The holy Bada Danda (Grand Road) almost transformed into an ocean of humanity on Saturday with around 10 lakh devotees thronging Puri to witness the world famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra.
Hot and humid conditions despite overcast sky and intermittent drizzle failed to dampen their spirit as they took part in the festivities with religious fervour and unmatched enthusiasm. Devotees waiting for hours to have a glimpse of the ‘Pahandi’ (the ceremonial procession to the chariots) were in trance as soon as the Lord of the Universe Jagannath came galloping out of the Singha Dwar (Lions Gate) swinging his giant floral tiara to the tunes of the musical concerts of cymbal, ghantas and bugle performed by the servitors. Odissi dancers and martial artists led the Pahandi procession. The chants of Haribol, Huluhuli, Jai Jagannath and religious hymns rented the atmosphere. Devotees were jostling among themselves to witness the ‘Pahandi’ which was completed by 11 am.
Earlier in the morning, the priests performed daily chores of the deities starting from ‘Mangala Arati’, ‘Mailum’, ‘Bandapana’ and began the ceremonial ‘Pahandi’ of the deities in a straight line starting with Balabhadra followed by Subhadra and Jagannath last. Puri Shankaracharya Swami Neeschalananda Saraswati arrived at Singha Dwara along with his aides to have darshan of the deities as ‘Pahandi Bije’ came to an end.
After the deities took their seats in their respective chariots, Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingh Deb came in a procession riding his ‘Tanzan’, the decorated traditional palanquin carried by servitors on their shoulders from his palace to the raths. The king who is the foremost servitor of the deities performed ‘aalati’, ‘chamar’ and ‘alalta’ services and then swept the three rathas with a gold broom in the famous ‘Chhera Pahanra’ ritual that signifies equality of human beings.
Soon after, the servitors fixed wooden horses. At 2.40 pm, Balabhadra’s Taladhwaj, the first chariot, rolled along the Bada Danda followed by Darpdalan chariot of Subhadra. Lord Jagannath came riding his Nandighosh in the end. However, while the chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra reached the Gundicha temple, Lord Jagannath’s chariot had to be halted at a short distance from the temple following a glitch. Nandighosh went off-track near Balagandi and drove into a stall of the Information and Public Relations Department. Efforts to restore it to its track were on but chariot pulling had to be suspended for the evening. The Lord will have to stay put on his chariot overnight and pulling will resume on Sunday at 8 am.
The administration had made elaborate arrangements for the safe and smooth conduct of the fete. This year an ambulance corridor was created with human barricades along the Bada Danda to facilitate shifting of sick from the crowd. Fifty-seven persons fell sick due to excess humidity and were transported through this way to DHH. Over two lakh devotees were served free lunch and drinking water at various places of the city by NGOs and other religious bodies.
Governor Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, State Cabinet ministers Maheswar Mohanty, Pradip Maharathy, Pradip Amat, Bikram Arukh, Ashok Panda, Pratap Jena along with local MP Pinaki Mishra were in attendance and paid obeisance to the Holy Trinity.