Puri, Jun 27 (PTI) The 鈥楶ahandi鈥 ritual in which Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath are being carried in a procession from the 12th-century temple to their respective chariots for the Rath Yatra started on Friday.
Though the Pahandi ritual was earlier scheduled to begin at 9.30 am, it started one hour late and the ritual will continue for three hours.
In the Pahandi the trinity 鈥 Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath 鈥 are being carried in a procession to their respective chariots parked in front of the Lion鈥檚 Gate for journey to Shree Gundicha Temple, about 2.6 kilometre from the 12th-century shrine here.
With the beating of gongs, and blowing of conches and cymbals, Chakraraj Sudarshan was first to be carried out from the main temple and seated at the 鈥楧arpadalan鈥 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.
Shree Sudarshan was followed by Lord Balabhadra, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath. Lord Balabhadra is seated on his 鈥楾aladhwaja鈥 chariot. Goddess Subhadra, the sister of Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra, was being brought to her 鈥楧arpadalan鈥 chariot in a special procession called 鈥楽unya Pahandi鈥 (the Goddess looking at the sky while being carried to the chariot) by servitors.
When finally Lord Jagannath came out of the temple, emotions spilled over the Grand Road as devotees raised their hands shouting 鈥楯ai Jagannath鈥. Odissi dancers, folk artists, music players and many other groups drawn from different parts of the state compete among themselves to perform before the 鈥楰alia Thakura鈥 (Black colour Lord Jagannath).
鈥淢y life will be fulfilled if the Lord graced to throw a look at me,鈥 said Maitree Maheswari, an Odissi dancer. Ratha Yatra, is held on the second day of the Odia month of 鈥楢shadha Shukla Tithi鈥 (bright fortnight) every year, is the only occasion when the sibling deities come out of the temple after descending from the 鈥楻atna Sinhasana鈥, the bejewelled throne, through 22 steps known as 鈥楤aisi Pahacha鈥 through the Lion鈥檚 Gate in an elaborate royal ritual called 鈥楶ahandi鈥.
Before the Pahandi, a number of customary rituals like 鈥楳angla Arati鈥 and 鈥楳ailam鈥 were held before the presiding deities came out from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
The three majestic chariots now stand tall in front of the Singha Dwar of the temple facing east towards the Gundicha temple.
Following the Pahandi, as per schedule, 鈥楥hherapahanra鈥 (sweeping of chariots) would be performed by Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb at 3.30 pm before pulling of chariots at 4 pm as per the programme.
Meanwhile, lakhs of devotees have already thronged the pilgrim town of Puri to witness the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings on Friday.
The festival is being held amid unprecedented security arrangements with deployment of around 10,000 personnel of Odisha police, central armed police force, NSG and others. 鈥淲e have made all possible arrangements for smooth conduct of Rath Yatra,鈥 DGP Y B Khurania told reporters, adding that over 275 AI-enabled CCTV cameras are keeping watch on the crowd. PTI AAM BDC AAM RG