Baripada all set to celebrate Ratha Jatra today

Baripada: Preparations have reached the final stage for the celebration of the Ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra in Baripada on Thursday.

As per tradition, Ratha Yatra is celebrated in this district headquarters town a day after the car festival in Puri. Like the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra will be pulled by the devotees first followed by the chariots of Devi Subhadra and finally Lord Jagannath.

A unique feature of the Baripada Rath Yatra is that Darpadalana or Debedalana, the chariot of Goddess Subhadra, is pulled only by women devotees.

Earlier on Wednesday, the deities were brought to their respective chariots in ‘Goti Pahandi’.