Over 10 Lakh Devotees Witnessed the World Famous Rath Yatra at Puri
Over 10 lakh devotees witnessed the world famous ‘Rath Yatra’ of Lord Jagannath here today with religious fervour, enthusiasm . Devotees poured into the Puri town to watch the grand ceremony and pull the three majestic and colourful chariots on the ‘bada danda’, the grand avenue.
The chariots were pulled by devotees after Gajapati Divyasingha Deb, customary king of Puri, conducted ritualistic sweeping on the wooden floor of the chariots.
The ‘pahandi’ of the deities began around 10.30 am. Before Pahandi a number of special rituals like ‘Mangla Arati’ and ‘Mailam’ were performed. In a rhythmic style, the deities moved forward step by step to the accompaniment of beating of ‘ghantas’ and ‘kahalis’ and blowing of conch shells. The trinity proceeded majestically in rhythmic movement in their journey to the world outside during ‘Pahandi’.