‘Bahuda Yatra’ begins ahead of schedule

Puri: Lord Jagannath’s ‘Bahuda Yatra’ or return car festival began here on Saturday with thousands of devotees pulling the chariot of Lord Balabhadra’s ‘Taladhwaja’ after ceremonial ‘pahandi’ and Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb performing ‘chhera pahanra’ (sweeping) rituals.

Though the pulling of chariots was slated to start at 4 pm, it began at about 2.45 pm much ahead of the schedule amid chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’, ‘Haribol’ and beating of cymbals. The chariots of Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath followed Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja.

Earlier, the sibling deities, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath, were carried to ‘Taladhwaja’, ‘Darpadalana’ and ‘Nandighosha’ chariots respectively in a ritual called ‘pahandi’. The ‘pahandi’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘padamundanam’, which means taking slow steps movement by spreading feet.

The ‘pahandi’ of the trinity began with Chakraraj Sudarshan, followed by Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and finally Lord Jagannath. Though the ‘pahandi’ ritual was earlier scheduled to begin at 12 noon, it started at 10 am, much earlier. The ceremonial procession took around two hours following which the deities were seated on the chariots.

The majestic chariots were pulled by devotees from Shree Gundicha temple to the 12th-century shrine, the main seat of Lord Jagannath, a distance of about 2.6 km. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik greeted the people on the auspicious occasion of Bahuda Yatra.

“Greetings to all on the occasion of Bahuda Yatra. By the grace of the Lord, everyone’s life be filled with happiness, peace and prosperity,” Majhi said in a post on X.

Amid the beating of gongs and blowing of conches and cymbals, ‘pahandi’ rituals were performed. While Lord Balabhadra was carried to the chariot on a line called ‘dhadi pahandi’, Goddess Subhadra, the sister of Lord Jagannath, was brought to her ‘Darpadalana’ chariot in a special procession called ‘sunya pahandi’ (the Goddess looking at the sky while being carried to the chariot) by servitors.

When Lord Jagannath finally stepped out of Shree Gundicha temple, emotions spilled over the Grand Road as devotees raised slogans like ‘Jai Jagannath’ and ‘Haribol’. Before the ‘pahandi,’ a number of customary rituals like ‘Mangla Arati’ and ‘Mailam’ were held before the presiding deities came out from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

The ‘chhera pahanra’ ritual or sweeping of the floor of the chariots with a golden broom was performed by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, on all the chariots. The ritual started at 1.35 pm. The Gajapati began ‘chhera pahanra’ on Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra followed by Lord Jagannath’s chariot and lastly on Devi Subhadra’s chariot.

Lakhs of devotees thronged the pilgrim town of Puri to witness the Bahuda Yatra. The festival is being conducted under unprecedented security arrangements in the backdrop of a stampede near Gundicha temple on June 29 when three persons were killed and around 50 others injured.

A total of 10,000 personnel, including 6,150 of Odisha Police and 800 personnel of the CAPFs, have been deployed in the temple town to ensure that no such incident takes place, an officer said. The police issued a traffic advisory for visitors in anticipation of a huge turnout.