TV
It is said that everybody is equal in the eyes of Lord Jagannath. This is the reason that millions of devotees eagerly wait for the Rath Yatra in Puri as the Lord of the Universe comes out of his abode to give darshan.
On Saturday, the pulling of chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath resumed, a day after the Rath Yatra in Puri. Though the chariots were scheduled to reach Gundicha temple (considered the aunt's place of the deities) by the evening of Friday, they had to be stopped on Grand Road as Lord Balabhadra’s Taladwaja chariot got stuck midway while negotiating a turn, preventing the other two from advancing further.
After the entire process of pulling all three gigantic chariots resumed today, the emotions of devotees ran high as they could have the sacred darshan of the deities atop their respective chariots without any hassles today.
Apart from devotees, one incident that caught everybody’s attention was the involvement of senior Odisha government officials and elected representatives in pulling the chariots of the deities.
Odisha Chief Secretary, Police DG, DG Fire Services and other senior officials were seen pulling the ropes of the chariots with much enthusiasm. Odisha Deputy CM Pravati Parida, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan and others also participated in the pulling of chariots today.
Fire Services DG Sudhanshu Sarangi said, “We are on duty as police officers and pulling chariots as devotees by seeing the eyes of the Lord. Today, all the arrangements are in proper shape.”
Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said, “Rath Yatra of the Lord is conducted as per His wish. It is being conducted smoothly for the second day. It started as per schedule today. The chariot of Lord Jagannath and His Siblings will reach Gundicha temple soon.”
According to Harichandan, there was a huge rush on Friday, it took some time and created some issues. As a result, the chariot of Lord Jagannath was pulled in a symbolic manner.
While slamming the Opposition over ‘leela of Lord’, the Law Minister said, “Those who indulge in cheap politics will continue to do so. If the leela of the Lord is appearing as a political subject, I have nothing to say. On several occasions, the chariot of Lord Jagannath is pulled and parked in front of the Gundicha temple the next day. It is the bond between the Lord and the devotees.”
