PURI/JEYPORE/KENDRAPARA: Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra took their return journey to the Simhadwara of Sri Jagannath temple in a grand Bahuda Yatra amid a sea of devotees on Wednesday. By the day's end, all three chariots were parked in front of the main temple.
While Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra reached Simhadwar first, it was followed by Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra. Lord Jagannath’s chariot however, halted near the Royal Palace where Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb conducted the Laxminarayan Bheta. At about 6.45 pm, even Nandighosha chariot reached Simhadwar.
Earlier on the day, the servitors performed the nitees three hours before schedule. While ‘Pahandi’ began at 9 am and was completed by 11.15 am, ‘Chhera pahanra’ by Gajapati was done soon after and pulling of chariots began by 1.15 pm which was scheduled for 4 pm.
However, during the pulling of the chariots, at least six devotees including a lady and a policeman were injured in two separate incidents, one near Taladhwaja and another at Nandighosha. Sources said, since the rope of the Taladhwaja chariot broke, three people got injured. Three others also got injured while pulling Nandighosha.
The injured persons were rushed to the district headquarters hospital and are currently under treatment.
Meanwhile, preparations have begun for the Suna Besha of the Trinity on Thursday. Multi-layer barricading around the three chariots has begun for the event.
While the administration is expecting over 15 lakh devotees to throng the city to witness the golden sparkle of the Trinity, it has deployed 90 platoons of police near the chariots besides for regulation of traffic, informed DGP Sunil Bansal.
On Friday, Adharpana would be offered to the deities late in the night and they would be taken inside the temple in Pahandi during Niladri Bije on Saturday. In Jeypore, devotees from across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh reached Sabar Srikhetra to participate in Bahuda Yatra.
In the morning, the deities were given a bath by temple priests and a special ritual was conducted prior to Pahandi at the Gundicha temple. Later, the Pahandi began and the Lords were taken to the chariots. After Chhera pahanra, the chariots began rolling towards the Jagannath temple amid large congregation of devotees.
Dressed in traditional attire, several tribal groups from Bhumiya, Kondh, Vatra, Amantya, Paioko, Parja, Soura, Gadva, Bonda, Durua communities participated in the fete and offered their prayers in the traditional way. Elaborate security arrangements were made by district administration. No untoward incident was reported during the festival.
However, in Kendrapara, the 65-feet long ‘Brahmataladhwaja’ of Baladevjew temple in Kendrapara, known as Tulasi Khetra, will start its return journey on Thursday, a day after Puri Bahuda. However, the Bahuda Yatra of the deities at Keraragada, Rajnagar, Pattamundai and other areas in Kendrapara district concluded on Wednesday.
The uniqueness of the festival here is the participation of Muslim community. In Deulasahi village under Rajkanika block, Muslims joined hands with Hindus to pull the chariots. “Nobody can create a divide between religions, we are like brothers,” said Mohammad Amin (55) of the village.
Three killed in separate mishaps during Bahuda
Jeypore/Keonjhar: As many as three persons were killed after being electrocuted in separate incidents during the Bahuda Yatra at Koraput and Keonjhar districts here on Wednesday. The deceased were identified as Babula Nahak of Koraput and Jugal Barik and Baruna Giri of Keonjhar. In Koraput, Babula was engaged in pulling the iron chariot when an 11 kv live wire fell on it and electrocuted him to death. Koraput sub-collector Benudhar Sabar ordered the tehsildar to conduct an inquiry on the mishap. Similarly in Keonjhar, Jugal and Baruna were distributing prasad to the devotees near the chariot when a live 11 kv wire connected to the chariot, electrocuted them. They were taken to the Jhumpura hospital where doctors declared them dead.