Rath Yatra: Devotees celebrate rare alignment of celestial events

Bhubaneswar, July 8: The first phase of the nine-day Rath Yatra concluded with the arrival of the grand chariots Taladhwaja, Darpadalana, and Nandighosa, carrying Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath, respectively, at Saradhabali, in front of the Gundicha Temple.

This year’s Gundicha Yatra, the journey from the jeweled throne of the Sri Mandir (Ratna Bedi) to the birthplace (Janma Bedi), took place over two days, marking a rare occurrence after 53 years.

This Rath Yatra is particularly notable for coinciding with the celestial events of Netra Utsav, Nabajoubana Darshan, and Gundicha Yatra all on the same day. The last time such an alignment occurred was in 1971, drawing over a million devotees on the first day of the Gundicha Yatra.

Today, the chariot pulling resumed around 10:00 AM with chants of "Hari Bol," "Jai Jagannath," and "hulhuli." Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja led, followed by Devi Subhadra’s Darpadalana and Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosha.

Today's crowd was smaller compared to the over one million devotees who gathered on Sunday at Bada Danda to pull the chariots. On Sunday, the first day of the two-day Gundicha Yatra, chariot pulling stopped after sunset. The Taladhwaja halted at Marichkote Chhak, Darpadalana near Srikrishna Cinema Hall, and Nandighosa a few meters from Singhadwara.