Rath Yatra Celebrated at Shrivani Kshetra with religious fervour

Bhubaneswar (Odia Gossip Bureau, July 16): The much-awaited Rath Yatra was celebrated at Shrivani Kshetra of KISS line previous years amidst devotion and festivities. 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. The ceremonial “Chhera Pahanra’’ was conducted by the Founder of KIIT and KISS Dr  Achyuta Samanta at 3: 00pm.

At around 4.00 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 “Ratha Danda’’ near KISS was filled with devotees as traditional musical instruments, religious recitals and the sound of “Jay Jagannath’’ resonated throughout. 

The exclusivity of the Ratha Yatra at Shrivani Kshetra is that the chariot of Devi Subhadra is pulled by women devotees only. More than 30,000 devotees joined the festival today as the weather conditions were good.

All the rituals at Shrivani Kshetra are done as per the traditions of Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri. The traditions of Ratha Yatra are also followed as laid down 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 can visit the Gundicha temple and have a ‘darshan’ of the Trinity.