PURI:Thousands of devotees converged at the Pilgrim Town on Tuesday to witness the Chandan Yatra of the Trinity of Jagannath temple. The auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya marked the beginning of the 21-day water sport of the deities. The day also witnessed the beginning of construction of chariots for the annual Rath Yatra.
As per tradition, Madan Mohan, the representative idol of Lord Jagannath, accompanied by five Shivas (Panch Pandava) were taken in decorated palanquins along the Grand Road to the Narendra tank situated about 1.5 kms from the temple. The deities on board six decorated palanquins were carried by a special set of servitors known as Biman Badu.
As the palanquins were being taken to the tank by the servitors, temple musicians recited the lines from Geeta Gobinda. At the Narendra tank, the deities were applied sandalwood paste and bathed in aromatic water. The devotees accompanying the deities also joined in the bathing ritual and the grand feast that followed.
The ‘Dina Chapa’ could not be observed as the ceremonial procession reached the tank in the evening.
However, the evening rituals went off smoothly. The idols were taken in a procession to their respective boats designed in the shape of giant swans. The boats were set on sail till late into the night and the deities returned to the temple in the same manner. The procedure would be repeated everyday for 21 days. The concluding ceremony, known as ‘Bhaunri’, will be performed with display of fire works and musical extravaganza.
Chariot construction: Construction of three chariots for the annual Rath Yatra also began on the day. Eleven Swotriya Brahmins led by the temple purohit performed a yajna at the Rath construction yard to consecrate the logs to be used for construction of the chariots. Pujapandas of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra handed over the ‘Ajnamala’ of the deities to the three Biswakarmas.
Prior to that, Deula Karan (traditional head of the temple administration) presented the ceremonial turbans to Biswakarmas, Roopakaras (painters) and Kamar (blacksmith) entrusting them with the responsibility.