Puri: On July 15, thousands of devotees gathered to pull the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra during the ‘Bahuda Yatra’ or return car festival.
The pulling of the chariots began earlier than scheduled, with chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ and the sound of cymbals filling the air. The processional journey started with the pulling of Lord Balabhdra’s chariot ‘Taladwaja’ at 3:25 p.m., followed by Devi Subhadra’s ‘Devadalan’ at 4 p.m. and finally, Lord Jagannath’s chariot ‘Nandighosh’ at 4:15 p.m.
The start of the chariot pulling was marked by the ritual of ‘cheerapahanra’, where Puri’s titular king ‘Gajapati Maharaj’ Divya Singha Deb swept the chariots with a golden broom and sprinkled sacred water. After spending a week at the Gundicha temple, the deities are now making their way back to the Jagannath temple in what is known as the ‘Bahuda Yatra’. Tight security measures were put in place with 180 platoons of police force and 1,000 officers to ensure crowd management and maintain law and order.
Chariot Chaos: Devotees Unite for Puri’s Epic ‘Bahuda Yatra’yu.The deities will remain seated on their chariots in front of the 12th-century shrine on Monday night and will be adorned in golden attire during the ‘Sunabesha’ ritual on July 16.
