Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra begins

For the first time in its history, the famous Rath Yatra of the Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha, began on Tuesday morning with priests pulling the three colourful chariots of the presiding deities in the absence of the tens of thousands of devotees who typically throng the town every year for the annual event.

Around 1,500 priests of the iconic 12th century temple milled around the wooden chariots which they started pulling from the main temple to the Gundicha temple amid the beating of cymbals and drums in praise of the resident deities: Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra.

The pulling of the chariots -- Nandighosh, Taladwaja and Darpadalana -- is the main ritual of the festival. It was performed by the priests who had been tested for Covid-19 on Monday.The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the conduct of the Rath Yatra, recalling its June 18 order that prohibited the event, but laid down strict conditions, including a ban on pubic attendance and the imposition of a curfew in Puri during the festivities. The festival was telecast on Doordarshan.

The erstwhile King of Puri, Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, who is also the first servitor of the Lord, performed the Chhera Panhara, a ritual sweeping of the chariots, before they were pulled by the priests.

“It’s hard to imagine Rath Yatra without devotees on Badadanda (Grand Road). But Lord Jagannath stepped out of temple for the whole universe,” said Deb. Puri Govardhan Peeth Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati paid obeisance to the deities atop the chariots along with his disciples.

Until Monday afternoon, uncertainty clouded the Rath Yatra as a three-judge bench of the apex court led by chief justice SA Bobde heard dozens of intervention petitions seeking recall of the court’s June 18 order that stayed the festival over fears of a mass congregation amid the coronavirus disease pandemic. For a few days, it seemed that the Rath Yatra would not be held for the first time in 285 years.

The judges on Monday afternoon reversed their decision after an appeal by the petitioners as well as an affidavit by the state and the Centre arguing that the event had been held continuously for centuries, and even in 1918, when the world was in the grip of the Spanish flu. The apex court agreed to allow the festival subject to conditions.

Since Tuesday morning, the district administration disinfected the 2.5 km long road from the main temple to Gundicha temple ahead of the pulling of chariots. From 9 pm Monday, the police enforced a curfew around the holy town restricting anyone’s entry or exit for the following 41 hours.

“We have mobilised 50 platoons of forces in Puri with two primary objectives – smooth and incident-free movement / pulling of the chariots from origin to destination and restricting entry of unauthorised persons into the town,” said state director general of police (DGP) Abhay, who goes by one name.

The devotees, who are an intrinsic part of the festival, remained glued to TV sets as Doordarshan telecast the proceedings live. “It’s all the wish of Lord Jagannath. I am happy with the decision of the Supreme Court. I will see my Lord after the lockdown is over,” said Binapani Mallik, a housewife in Bhubaneswar.

“After the SC order last week, I had given up hope. But I knew that the Lord of Universe would perform a miracle to come out on the road and show his face to his millions of devotees,” said Prabodh Mishra, a septuagenarian.

On Monday, 1,143 servitors of the temple were tested for Covid-19 and one tested positive. The servitor who tested positive was shifted to a Covid hospital before the beginning of the Rath Yatra rituals.