Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra begins at Puri

For the first time ever, the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings began in absence of devotees at Odisha’s Puri on Tuesday.

The annual festival is being celebrated after the Supreme Court’s nod to organise it in a limited way without public attendance.

The priests performed the “Mangala Aarti” early in the morning.

Amid blowing of conches and beating of cymbals, the ceremonial procession of the deities known as “Pahandi” – carrying the deities on chariots out of the temple — took place.

The three deities were taken atop of the three traditionally decked up wooden chariots — Nandighosa (for Jagannath), Taladhwaja (for Balabhadra) and Devadalana (for Subhadra).

The chariots will be pulled to Gundicha temple in Puri, which is around 3 km away from the main Jagannath temple.

This year, no more than 500 people will be allowed to pull the chariots. They shall be permitted to do that only if they have tested negative for Covid-19. This number (500) shall include temple servitors and police personnel.

Read More: https://www.bhaskarlive.in/lord-jagannath-rath-yatra-begins-at-puri/