Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The world-famous annual Rath Yatra festival began in the holy coastal town of Puri in Odisha on July 16 with the commencement of the Pahandi Bije ritual of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra, ahead of the scheduled time.
The holy siblings, along with other deities during the Pahandi Bije ritual, are being escorted out from the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple to their respective decorated chariots in a grand ceremonial procession with the enthralling and divine sound of traditional musical instruments, like ghanta (gong), kahali (trumpet) and telingi baja, etc.
The priests, chanting sacred Vedic hymns, and traditional Odissi artists with their enthralling dance performances welcomed the deities on their nine-day sojourn for the Gundicha Temple, believed to be their birthplace.
As per the tradition, the celestial weapon of Lord Krishna, Chakraraj Sudarshan, is first brought and placed on the chariot of Goddess Subhadra, followed by Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and finally Lord Jagannath in ‘Dhadi Pahandi’, in which the deities move simultaneously in a row, one after the other, in close succession.
Following the completion of the Pahandi ritual, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, offers puja to the holy siblings on the chariots. Later, Puri King Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singha Deb, the first servitor of the Lord Jagannath, offers prayers to the deities and conducts the ceremonial sweeping of the chariots with a golden broom.
