Rath Yatra: Guja Anukula, Nrusingha Chaturdashi in Puri Srimandir today

The construction work of chariots for the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri on Saturday gathered more pace with the Guja Anukula ritual.

Guja Anukula is one of the foremost rituals of the chariot construction and involves installation the wooden plate connecting wheel base and floor of chariot.

As per the tradition, the initiation ceremony of the chariot wheel construction is carried out at Ratha Khala on Nrusingha Chaturdashi.

Rupakara servitors perform the Guja Anukuka ritual to mark the occasion and start laying one after another wheels of the three Raths of Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath over the next few days till the Chaka Dera ritual.

Maharana servitor of Taladhwaja chariot Narasingha Mohapatra said, "Guja Anukula ritual will be done by Rupakara servitors while Bhoi servitors will start providing logs of different sizes for wheel construction of three chariots."

Meanwhile, today Lord Jagannath is also being worshipped in the form of Nrusingha at Srimandir to mark the Nrusingha Chaturdashi which falls on the 14th day of Shukla Paksha in the Odia month of Baishakha every year.

Going by Skanda Purana, Jagannath is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Nrusingha appeared on the lunar 14th day of Baishakha in Swati Nakshatra. That's why Nrusingha Jayanti is celebrated every year at Srimandir. 

As per the legend, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu during his stay in Puri, advised his disciples to have the darshan of Lord Nrusingha and pay obeisance to Lord Nrusingha through Danda Pranam (salutation by laying on ground) before having darshan of Lord Jagannath. 

Sri Chaitanya used to worship Lord Nrusingha at third step of Baisi Pahacha  before going for darshan of Sri Jagannath. Since then, worship of Nrusingha is a practice carried out in several mutts in Puri.

On this day, idol of Nrusingha is brought from Dakhina Gruha and installed at the Mukti Mandap. Idols of Yagya Nrusingha and Nrusingha are carried in palanquins to Jagannath Ballav mutt and a special puja is performed there in the dusk as it is said Nrusingha, an incarnation of Vishnu as Purushottama emerged out of a Stambha (pillar) in the dusk.