Jagannath temple deities all set for Rath Yatra, without devotees, in Puri

BHUBANESWAR: The restrictions forced by the Covid-19 pandemic could not dull the fervour of the Rath Yatra with the resplendent deities of the Jagannath temple in Puri set to embark on a nine-day sojourn to their birthplace, the Gundicha Temple, on Monday marking the beginning of the state’s biggest festival.
While the 12th century shrine’s centuries-old rituals have remained unaffected by the pandemic, the buzz of devotees on the Grand Road or Bada Danda, is missing owing to the ban on their participation in the Rath. The three km Grand Road from the Jagannath Temple right up to the Gundicha Temple used to brim with devotees erupting in joy during the Rath before Covid-19 changed everything.
While Puri is out of bounds for tourists with the imposition of curfew from 8pm on Sunday, local residents were lucky enough to be able to offer their prayers outside the temple and touch the chariots a day before the Rath Yatra. The curfew will remain in force until 8pm on Tuesday. The hotels on both sides of the Grand Road have been vacated.
“We cannot move out of our homes on Monday. To get a feel of Rath Yatra, we went near the empty chariots a day before the big day and paid our obeisance. We will miss the spectacle of deities aboard the chariots for the second year in a row,” Subasini Tripathy, a Puri resident, said.
The Singha Dwar (Lion’s Gate) in front of the Jagannath Temple was soaked in religious fervour as servitors pulled the three grand chariots from the Ratha Khala (where the chariots were being made) to the main gate of the shrine amid the beating of cymbals and blowing of conches.
The chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration visited the Govardhan Math and invited Puri Shankaracharya, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, to offer prayers to the deities atop the chariots on Monday. “We have been assured of the timely conduct of all Rath-related rituals inside the temple and on the chariots by the servitors,” Krishan Kumar said.
District collector Samarth Verma appealed to the local residents to cooperate with the government’s arrangements and stay in their homes. “We have issued a toll-free helpline number in public interest in case of any emergency. The number goes as 18003457495,” Verma said.
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