Devotees celebrate Jagannath Rath Yatra in different parts of country

Devotees from across the country celebrated the world-famous Jagannath Rath Yatra or chariot festival that began on Thursday in different parts of the country.

Those who could not visit the shrine were also not stripped of the joy of celebrated the occasion. Similar celebrations were also held at different parts of the country, including Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Hyderabad, Raipur and Kolkata.

Thousands of people also participated in a Rath Yatra organised by Iscon in Hyderabad, where three giant wooden chariots of the three gods were pulled by the devotees.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off Rath Yatra in the capital city of Kolkata while Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also took part in the celebrations organised at Jagannath Temple in Hauz Khas.

Thousands of people gathered at the beach town of Puri to witness the 9-day journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on the Bada Danda as they travel from the Jagannath temple to Shree Gundicha temple.

As per the rituals, three garlands of consent from the deities are placed on the each of the grand chariots thereby officially permitting the conduct of preparatory rituals for reading the chariots for pulling.

The three chariots look just like temples that have been decorated with small idols, diyas and garlands. The processions pulled the chariots from Ratha Khala (construction site of the chariot) and later parked them outside Lion's gate for the commencement of the rituals for the yatra.

Over the years, such festivals have gone a long way in highlighting the cultural treasure of India.