Puri, Lord Jagannath and his brother deities began the Bahoda Yatra on Friday amid tight security, as thousands of devotees thronged Puri to take part in the celebrations.
The Pahuda Yatra marks the return journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra to the 12th century Jagannath Temple after their week-long stay at Gundicha Temple, about 2.6 km away.
The ritual began with servants carrying the deities in the traditional ‘Goti Pahandi’ to the chariots stationed outside the temple.
Although the ‘Bahandi’ was scheduled to start at noon, it started at 10.50 am. Amidst chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ and ‘Haripul’, the deities were carried one by one to their chariots.
The three chariots Taladwaj of Lord Balabhadra, Darpadalan of Goddess Subhadra and Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath will later be pulled by the devotees to the Jagannath temple.
Prime Minister Mohan Sharan Majhi, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik and several other leaders received devotees on the occasion.
“Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes on the holy occasion of Bhoda Yatra. May the infinite grace of Lord Jagannath, Mother Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra fill everyone’s lives with happiness, peace, prosperity and joy,” Majhi said in a social media post.
Chakraraj Sudarshan, the divine disc of Lord Jagannath, was the first to be taken out of the Shri Gundesha temple and placed on the darpadalan chariot of Goddess Subhadra.
Lord Balabhadra followed, while Devi Subhadra was carried to her chariot in a special ‘Sonia Bhandi’ procession, with the Goddess facing the sky while being carried by servants.
Lord Jagannath was scheduled to be escorted to his chariot Nandigosh at the end of the procession.
As per the schedule issued by the Shree Jagannath Temple administration, the honorary king of Puri, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, will perform ‘Chera Bhahanra’ between 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm, after which devotees will start pulling the chariots at 4 pm.
The festival is being held under tight security cover in the wake of the escalation of crowds during the Rath Yatra, which claimed the lives of two people and injured several others.
“We have multi-layered security arrangements for the festival with the number of devotees rising daily. Our security and crowd management arrangements remain similar to those made during the Rath Yatra,” Assistant Director General Somendra Priyadarshi said.
More than 13,000 security personnel, including Central Armed Police Force personnel, have been deployed across Puri, while more than 400 AI-powered CCTV cameras have been installed for real-time surveillance and crowd monitoring.
“We have taken all possible measures to ensure a smooth conclusion of the festival,” Director General of Police YP Khurania said.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has forecast cloudy skies over Puri, with humidity likely to remain between 80 and 90 per cent and temperatures hovering between 29 and 30 degrees Celsius.
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