Odisha’s pilgrim city Puri is all set to host Lord Jagannath’s majestic Rath Yatra festival on Sunday. All preparations have been made for the grand cultural festival of the deity. The servitors of Srimandir, the abode of Lord Jagannath, His elder brother Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra —on Saturday performed the ‘Agyan Mala Bije’ rituals for the three chariots ahead of the Rath Yatra.
The important ritual was performed after the completion of ‘Sakala Dhupa’ at Srimandir. After bringing the ‘Agyan Mala’ (a garland as symbol of permission) from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the senior servitors went in a grand procession to the three chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra and performed the rituals there. As per the age-old tradition, the three chariots—Nandighosa of Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra — were also drawn from Rath Khala — a place where the chariots were built — towards Singhadwar (Lion’s Gate) by the devotees and police forces following the completion of the ritual.
The chariots were kept north-faced towards the Gundicha temple. “Devotees coming from across the country and abroad will return with a good experience here as we have been putting up extra efforts to make the event more memorable. With Lord Jagannath’s blessings, we are hopeful that this year’s Rath Yatra will be performed smoothly,” said a senior servitor.
Tapan Kumar Swain, a devotee, said.
