A day after the world witnessed the grand Rath Yatra in Puri, chariots of the Holy Trinity--Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities will be pulled as per the unique tradition at Ditiya Shreekhetra Baripada and Tulasi Khetra Kendrapara on Saturday.
In a unique way of Rath Yatra celebration, chariots of the Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra will be pulled by devotees in Baripada and Kendrapara on Saturday.
In Baripada, which is known as second Shreekhetra after Puri, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra will be pulled first followed by Devi Subhadra. As per the tradition, women devotees will only pull Subhadra’s chariot.
However, the chariot of the goddess will be pulled for half of the way today.
The chariots of Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra will be dragged up to the Gundicha temple tomorrow
Thousands of devotees congregated in Baripada town yesterday to witness the ceremonial ‘Pahandi Bije’ ritual of the deities who were escorted onto the chariots from the temple.
Similarly, in Kendrapara town, the 64-feet-high ‘Brahma Taladhwaja Ratha’ of Lord Baladevjew was pulled for some distance on Friday and parked near Raghunathjew mutt. The pulling of the chariot will resume today following the rituals as per tradition.
Notably, devotees have been allowed to take part in the annual sojourn of the deities after Covid hiatus of two years.