Lord Jagannath’s Return Car Festival Begins in Puri

Amid chants of “Jai Jagannath” and striking of cymbals, the “Bhoda Yatra” festival of Lord Jagannath or the return of the car began in the pilgrimage town on Wednesday.

The two brothers deities—Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadara, and Lord Jagannath—were escorted into their respective chariots from the Gundisha temple in a ceremonial “Dadi Pahandi” (line procession), marking the beginning of the return journey of the Lord or Bhuda Yatra to their home in Srimandir.

The deities were taken to the Shree Gundicha Temple, about 3 km from the main temple on the day of the Rath Yatra on 20 June. The deities stayed in the Gundicha temple, which is considered the birthplace of the trinity, for seven days.

Although the management of Shree Jagannath Temple (SJTA) had earlier fixed the Pahandi timing between 12 noon and 2.30 pm, the Lord’s procession was completed much ahead of schedule.

According to tradition, the ritual ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (chariot sweeping) was performed by the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri Divya Singha Deb in all three chariots.

Vehicle towing is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

“We hope that all the rituals are performed much earlier as Pahandi was performed much earlier,” an SJTA official said.

The deities will still be seated on chariots in front of the Lion Gate of the 12th-century mausoleum on Wednesday night, and the ‘sonapsheh’ (golden attire) will be performed on chariots on June 29. About 10 lakh devotees are expected to testify, said the official, Lord Sonabhisa.

On June 30, the ‘Adhar Pana’ (sweet drink) rituals will be performed on chariots while the deities will be brought back to the main temple on July 1 in a ritual called ‘Niladri Bije’.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)