Juggernaut rolls on Bada Danda as fervent devotees pull chariots after 2 years

Puri: Lord Jagannath – the Lord of Universe — along with His siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra began His annual 9-day sojourn to the Gundicha Temple on grand chariots.

The spiritually soaked devotees thronged the pilgrim town Puri to witness the divine Ratha Jatra of Lord Jagannath after a gap of two-year Covid-19 restrictions.

Amidst sea of devotees from across the country and abroad, the chariots — Taladhwaja, Darpadalan and Nandighosha — carrying the deities rolled on Bada Danda (Grand Road) from Singhadwar to Lords’ birthplace Gundicha Temple, around 3 km away from Srimandir.

With sounds of conch, cymbals, gongs and Mrudanga (percussion instrument) reverberating entire holy atmosphere, devotees pulled the Nandighosha chariot after Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra headed towards Gundicha Temple on their respective chariots — Taladhwaja and Darpadalan.

The chariot pulling began following rituals of chhera pahanra performed by Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb on three chariots completed by 12 noon.

Also Read: Ratha Jatra: Lord Jagannath’s 9-day sojourn begins in Odisha’s Puri

Earlier in the day, the chariots were worshipped by the temple priest for the 9-day Ratha Jatra of deities. The deities were escorted to their respective chariots in dhadi pahandi by servitors from Anasar house. The subsidiary deities — Rama Krushna, Madan Mohan and Sudarshan — were also seated atop chariots.

Soon after completion of pahandi rituals and deities were placed on their respective chariots, Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati accompanied by his disciples visited the place to offer prayer to deities atop the chariots. Later, Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, who is the first servitor to Lord Jagannath, was escorted to Singhadwar to sweep the chariots with a golden broom.

First, the Taladhwaja chariot carrying Lord Balabhadra started rolling after 12.30 pm. Thereafter, the Darpadalan and Nandighosha chariots were pulled by devotees towards the Gundicha Temple.

 

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