BARIPADA : Lakhs of devotees gathered on the Grand Road on Tuesday to pull the chariots of Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra to their destination, the Gundicha temple amidst religious fervour and grand processions.
The chariot of Lord Jagannath, stationed near the Haribaldevjew temple after pahandi, arrived at the Gundicha temple at 6.36 pm, following Devi Subhadra’s chariot at 4.30 pm. The chariot of Lord Balabhadra had reached the Gundicha temple on Monday.
Following the chariot’s arrival at the Gundicha temple, servitors, endowment department staff, and police distributed ladoos from Lord Jagannath’s chariot.
Mayurbhanj collector Dattatreya Bhauseb Shinde and SP S Sushree ensured the smooth management of the chariot pulling. Additional SP Umashankar Maharana reported that over one lakh devotees congregated on the Grand Road.
“There were no untoward incidents during the Rath pulling,” said Maharana, attributing the smooth conduct to divine blessings.
On Monday, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra was pulled to the Gundicha temple, while Devi Subhadra’s chariot halted halfway in front of the Baripada town police station.
Jayanta Tripathy, a servitor of the Haribaldevjew temple, stated that Abakas and other rituals were performed on the chariots, allowing public darshan of the deities. The Trinity and Lord Sudarshan would enter their aunt’s house around 10 pm after the pahandi ritual.