Lakhs of devotees throng Puri for Car Festival

Heralding the beginning of world-famous Rath Yatra (Car festival) in Puri, the chariots of three deities of Jagannath temple, Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra today reached their destination at Gundicha Temple on their nine-day sojourn.

Earlier, the chariots were pulled on the Grand Road of Puri separating the Jagannath temple with Gundicha temple, 3 kms away, with much fanfare amidst chanting of religious slogans and clanging of cymbal.Braving intense heat wave conditions, lakhs of devotees from different parts of the country today thronged the pilgrim city and converged on a three-km stretch of Grand Road from the Lion gate of the 12th century edifice to the Gundicha temple to have a glimpse of this annual event.

In the morning, the deities were offered ''Gopal bhog'' (breakfast) after necessary rituals before being taken out from the ''ranta vedi'' of the sanctum sanctorum in a ceremonial procession called ''pahandi bije'' to their well decorated chariots parked outside the temple.

The deities of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath adorned the gigantic chariots Taladhwaja, Darpadalan and Nandighosha respectively, stationed at the 'Simhadwara' (Lion's gate) before being pulled by devotees in a grand procession amid unprecedented security.

Puri scion Gajapati DibyaSingha Dev performed the traditional sweeping of the chariots with a broomstick. Unlike in the past, all the rituals were finished before the scheduled time.