Bhubaneswar / Puri : The world famous Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri began amid religious fervour here on Tuesday. The annual festival of Lord Jagannath and his siblings has began a day after the Supreme Court of India gave its approval with certain conditions.
This is for the first time ever, the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings began in the absence of devotees in Odisha’s Puri.
In the holy spectrum the three deities were taken atop the three traditionally decked up wooden chariots — Nandighosa (for Jagannath), Taladhwaja (for Balabhadra) and Devadalana (for Subhadra). The chariots will be pulled to the Gundicha temple in Puri, which is around three km away from the main Jagannath temple.
The festival marks the annual journey of the three deities — Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra — from the 12th century Jagannath temple to the Gundicha temple. The festival ends after nine days when the deities make their way back to the Jagannath temple.
This year, no more than 500 people, including the temple servitors and police personnel, have been allowed to pull the chariots. They have been permitted to do that only if they have tested negative for COVID-19.