Like every year, the much-awaited Rath Yatra was celebrated at Shrivani Kshetra of KISS, on 7th July, 2024 amidst much religious fervour and gaiety.
In the forenoon religious ceremonies like “Mangala Arati, Mailama, Tadapalagi, Rosha Homa, Abakasha, Surya Puja’’ and establishment of Chariots were held according to the prescribed time and the ceremonial “Chhera Pahanra’’ was conducted by Achyuta Samanta at 4: 00pm.
At around 4.30 pm thousands of devotees participated in pulling the three decorated chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra up to the newly-built Gundicha Temple near the KIIT-Sikharchandi Road.
The atmosphere along the “Ratha Danda’’ near KISS was filled with devotees with traditional musical instruments, religious recitals and the sound of “Jay Jagannath’’. The exclusivity of the Ratha Yatra at Shrivani Kshetra is that the chariot of Devi Subhadra is tugged by women devotees only. More than 50,000 devotees joined the festival today as the weather conditions were good.
It can be mentioned here that all rituals at Shrivani Kshetra are done as per the traditions of Jagannath Temple Puri. The traditions of Ratha Yatra are also followed as laid by the Puri Shri Mandira. For the construction of the three beautiful chariots special “bindhani’’, “maharana’’ and “chitrakara’’ are engaged by the Shrivani Kshetra Temple Trust.
Starting from the construction of the Jagannath Temple at Srhibani Kshetra to all the rituals, “niti’’ and “puja’’, all activities are done with the consultation and guidance by the Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, Shri Dibyasingh Deb. As per the Ratha Yatra traditions of Puri, the three chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Jagannath and Devi Subhadra have 16, 14 and 12 wheels, respectively.
During this nine-day festival, there will be “Bhajan Samaroh’’ every evening near Gundicha Temple. Devotees from nearby localities throng the Gundicha temple and have a ‘darshan’ of the Trinity.