Rath Yatra of Lord Jagganath begins in Puri, Odisa today

18 July, Puri (Odisha)

The famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath begins today at Puri in Odisha amid tight security. Lakhs of devotees have thronged the holy town of Puri to witness the new millennium’s first Nabakalebar Rath Yatra.

The initial rituals of Rath yatra including the Pahandi of Lord Jagannath,Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan to mount them in their respective chariots have been conducted as per schedule . The Pulling of Chariots along the Grand Road down to Sringundicha Temple for the nine day royal journey would be taken place in the afternoon after the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (cleaning of stop the rath with Golden brooms) by Gajapati King Bibya Singh Deb and darshan of Lords by Shakaracharya of Gobardhan Pitha, Puri.

The Odisha government is making all out effort to ensure a smooth conduct of the grand festival as it expects a congregation of about 50 lakh devotees during the nine-day-long Rath Yatra and Suna Besha (Golden Attire of Lord Jagannath and His siblings) subsequently.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has deputed four ministers and a number of bureaucrats to supervise the smooth functioning of the festival.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a letter as well as the traditional offering (prasad) of greengram (moong), blackberries (jamun) and mangoes to the Jagannath temple yesterday, on this occasion.