PURI: Under the shadow of Covid, which prevented hundreds and thousands of devotees from darshan of their beloved Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra on the Bada Danda (Grand Road) at Puri for the second year in a row, the Trinity embarked on its nine-day annual sojourn to Janma Bedi (birth place) Gundicha temple on Monday.
The Rath Yatra was held amid tight security and in strict adherence to Covid guidelines without public participation. The pilgrim town was transformed into a fortress with heavy security and stringent measures to ensure compliance to the standard operating procedure laid down by the government for Rath Yatra. The entire rituals including chariot pulling was completed more than an hour and half before schedule.
Rituals for the car festival began at 4.30 am. The Trinity was escorted to their respective chariots in ceremonial Pahandi procession that started at 7 am and was completed by 9.30 am.Then Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati along with his disciples went up the raths and offered prayers to the deities. At 10.40 am, Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb came in a decorated palanquin called ‘Mehena’ from his palace and performed ‘Chhera Pahanra’ service.
The servitors then fixed the Sarathis (charioteers), wooden horses and ropes and the chariot pulling began. Taladhwaja, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra, was the first to roll on at 12.05 pm followed by Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra at 1 pm. Lord Jagannath followed them on his Nandighosha rath at 1.50 pm. The three chariots were pulled with utmost control by the servitors and took four hours to reach Gundicha temple by 6 pm.Over 4,000 RT-PCR tests were done for servitors, temple officials, police and mediapersons before the festival. Only those testing negative for Covid were allowed to participate in the event. As per the Supreme Court’s directive, only 500 servitors were allowed to pull one chariot.
As many as 65 platoons of police force were deployed for the festival while curfew has been imposed in Puri town from Sunday night till Tuesday night to prevent entry of devotees to Bada Danda. All roads connected to the Grand Road have been sealed. Security personnel are keeping surveillance from the rooftops of houses and buildings located along the Bada Danda.Shree Jagannath Temple Administration chief administrator Dr Krishan Kumar thanked people of Puri, servitors, police, administration and all stakeholders for the smooth completion of the Rath Yatra.
RITUAL TIMELINE
7 am: Commencement of Pahandi of Lord Balabhadra followed by Devi Subhadra and then Lord Jagannath
9.30 am: Pahandi procession completed
10.40 am: Puri King Dibyasingha Deb arrives in a decorated palanquin to perform ‘Chhera Pahanra’
12.05 pm: Taladhwaja, Lord Balabhadra’s chariot first to roll on Bada Danda
1 pm: Pulling of Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra
1.50 pm: Lord Jagannath rides his Nandighosha rath
6 PM: The Holy Trinity reaches Gundicha temple