Lakhs of devotees witness Lord Jagannath’s return car festival in Puri

Puri: Winding up their annual nine-day Rath Yatra festival in Puri, chariots of sibling deities Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra on Monday reached the 12th century Jagannath temple on Monday.

Pulled by thousands of devotees amid chants like 'Jai Jagannath', the chariots reached in front of the "Singha Dwar" or Lion’s Gate of the temple. The Bahuda Yatra, also called the return car festival was witnessed by lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad.

Lord Balabhadra’s chariot 'Taladwaja' and Devi Subhadra’s 'Dabadalan' reached the Lion’s Gate before sunset.

Nandighosh, the chariot of Lord Jagannath, was the last one to reach the destination after a ritual called “Laxmi Narayan Bhet”, held near the Raj Nahar, the titular king’s palace.

In the ritual, Lord Jagannath meets his consort Maa Laxmi who expresses her anger for not taking her to the festival.

Lord Jagannth's chariot was pulled beyond sunset though the tradition dictates otherwise.

The delay in chariot pulling was witnessed even as the process began beyond the schedule. It began ahead of the schedule - 4 pm.

Devotees start pulling Lord Balabhdra’s chariot ‘Taladwaja’ at 3.25 pm and Devi Subhadra’s ‘Devadalan’ at 4 pm. Pulling of Lord Jagannath’s chariot ‘Nandighosh’ began later at 4.15 pm.

The chariot pulling started after Puri’s titular king ‘Gajapati Maharaj’ Divya Singha Deb performed ‘cheerapahanra’, a ritual during which he swept the three chariots with help of golden broom by sprinkling scared water.

The deities left the Jagannath temple on July 7 during the Rath Yatra and reached Gundicha temple, considered their birthplace. They stayed there for a week and on Monday are now returning to the Jagannath temple. This journey is known as the ‘Bahuda Yatra’.

Earlier, the trinity was ceremonially taken to their respective chariots from the Gundicha Temple in presence of lakhs of devotees.

A total of 180 platoons (1 platoon comprises 30 personnel) of police force and 1,000 officers were deployed to maintain law and order and crowd management during the ‘Bahuda Yatra’.

Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Sanjay Kumar said adequate security arrangements have been made and the entire temple town is under CCTV surveillance.

The deities will remain seated on the chariots in front of the ‘Singha Dwar’ (Lion’s Gate) of the 12th-century shrine on Monday night.

The 'Sunabesha' (golden attire) ritual, in which the deities are decked in gold jewellery, will be performed on chariots on July 17.

A ritual called “Adarpana” where the deities were offered sweet water, will be held on July 18 while the “Nidari Bije”, entering the 12th-century shrine, will be held on Jul 19.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee spotted a non-servitor climbing the chariot of Devi Subhadra. The man was immediately removed.

“Action will be taken against the person as climbing chariot by non-servitors is against the existing order,” Padhee told reporters.

DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi said that the festival so far has passed peacefully.