Puri: Braving relentless rainfall, lakhs of devotees on Thursday witnessed the ‘Pahandi’ ritual, in which idols of Lord Jagannath and his two siblings are taken to chariots from the 12th-century Puri temple, marking the beginning of the nine-day annual Rath Yatra in Odisha.
Amid the beating of gongs and the blowing of conches and cymbals, Chakraraj Sudarshan was first taken out from the main temple and seated at the ‘Darpadalan’ chariot of Devi Subhadra.
Shree Sudarshan is the wheel weapon of Lord Vishnu, who is worshipped in the form of Lord Jagannath in Puri, said Pandit Suryanaray Rathsharma.
Before being seated on their wooden chariots, the deities undertake a ceremonial circumambulation (parikrama) of the three newly constructed grand chariots – Nandighosha, Taladhwaja, and Darpadalana. Subsequently, they are formally placed on their thrones (Ratha Bije) for the annual journey to the Gundicha Temple.
After the deities take their seats, two important rituals of the Rath Yatra occur. The Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peetha, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, visits the three chariots to offer prayers and perform special puja.
In an expression of humility and equality before the divine, the titular King of Puri, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, arrives in a royal palanquin to perform the Chhera Pahanra (sweeping of the chariots) ritual. He sweeps the platforms of the three chariots with a broom featuring a golden handle and sprinkles fragrant holy water.
Following these royal rituals and the fixing of wooden horses to the chariots, the grand chariot pulling by devotees is set to begin at approximately 2 pm. Lord Balabhadra’s chariot, Taladhwaja, will move first, followed by Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana, and finally Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosha will proceed down the Badadanda towards the Gundicha Temple.
