Millions Bid Adieu to Lord Jagannatha

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Jagannath Pahandi

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]

Jul 18, 2013 — JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — The curtain came down on the nine-day Rath Yatra in Jagannath Puri Dham as a sea of humanity braved the downpour and bid adieu to Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on Bahuda Yatra on Thursday.

A wave of spiritualism swayed across the temple town when the reigning Deities were brought out of Gundicha Temple amid a pompous ceremony, called pahandi. Rhythmic beats of cymbals and gongs and mellifluous sound of conches added music to the euphoric ambience around Gundicha Temple. While Odissi and Gotipua dancers performed to the ecstatic music in front of the chariots, martial artists performed banati, a traditional sport, in front of the Deities.

Balabhadra Pahandi

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]

"The rains did not pain me when I managed to catch glimpse of the Deities aboard the chariots," said Gyana Ranjan Hota (63), a devotee from Sakhigopal. "We had been staying at Puri since Rath Yatra started on July 10. We did not miss a single day without having darshan of the Deities," said Pratik Swain, a devotee from Gajapati district.

Balabhadra Pahandi

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]

"Like Rath Yatra, we succeeded in starting and completing the rituals in scheduled time. Priests cooperated with us in solemnizing the rituals," temple's Chief Administrator Arvind Padhee said. Sources said the temple officials faced a raw deal from two warring groups of priests inside Gundicha Temple prior to the start of the pahandi procession. "It was their internal problem. We will sort it out soon," Padhee said.

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]

The Deities traversed the 3 km. Grand Road towards Jagannath Temple soon after Puri scion Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb performed his hereditary chhera pahanra (sweeping of decks) practice on the chariots. In view of the tragedy involving the injury of a temple servitor under the wheel of Jagannath's Nandighos chariot on July 10th, the temple administration asked all priests to remain careful on Thursday.

Servant of Lord Jagannath

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]

The state government heaved a sigh of relief as the Bahuda Yatra of the Jagannath Temple Deities passed off peacefully against the backdrop of terror alert sounded in the wake of the recent Bodh Gaya blasts. "Like Rath Yatra we made adequate security arrangements. No untoward incident was reported on Thursday. We were alert after the Bodh Gaya incident," DGP Prakash Mishra told media persons.

Subhadra Pahandi

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]

Subhadra Pahandi

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]

Their Lordships' Chariots

[Photo: Sampradaya Sun]