Bhubaneshwar: The annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath began in Puri on Friday, drawing lakhs of devotees from across India and abroad.
The coastal pilgrim town has been turned into a high-security zone with an elaborate deployment of forces, AI-enabled surveillance, and real-time monitoring.
As the grand chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra prepare to roll out for the Gundicha Temple later today, the district administration said all preparations were in place for the massive event. Chariot pulling is scheduled to begin at 4 pm after the completion of all rituals inside the temple.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi extended greetings to devotees and urged them to participate with devotion.
“Join the Rath Yatra with faith and devotion, witness the divine glimpse of Mahaprabhu atop the chariot, and receive His blessings,” he said in a statement.
Officials including Puri District Magistrate Siddharth Swain and SP Vineet Agarwal, confirmed that the three chariots were positioned at their starting points and all rituals were proceeding as per schedule.
A day before the Rath Yatra, thousands of pilgrims were able to witness the ‘Nabajouban Darshan’, a rare event where the deities appear before the public after a fortnight-long quarantine period following the ceremonial bathing on June 11.
“The deities remain in seclusion in the ‘Anasar Ghar’ after Snana Purnima, as it is believed they fall ill and need rest. They reappear rejuvenated on the eve of the Rath Yatra,” said Bhaskar Mishra, a Jagannath culture researcher.
To facilitate the travel of devotees, the Indian Railways has arranged 365 trains to Puri, while the state government has mobilized around 800 buses from various districts. Police estimate that around one lakh people had already reached the temple town by Thursday evening.
The Jagannath Rath Yatra is one of the biggest religious gatherings in the country, where the three sibling deities are taken to the Gundicha Temple and stay there for a week before returning to the main Jagannath Temple in a return journey known as Bahuda Yatra.
