Lakhs of devotees from across the country on Sunday braved occasional rain to take part in Bahuda Yatra or the Return Car festival held in the temple town of Puri.
The annual Rath Yatra or the Car Festival of Jagannath, Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra, the three presiding deities of Puri temple, was held on July 18. Nearly 15 lakh devotees participated in the renowned festival.
Like the Rath Yatra, the Bahuda Yatra too began in the morning hours with traditional Pahandi Bije or the shifting of the three deities from Gundicha Temple–where they had their nine-day sojourn–to the three well-decorated wooden chariots parked near the temple.
The Pahandi Bije was followed by several other rituals after which the three chariots–Nandighosa for Jagannath, Devidalana for Subhadra and Taladhwaja for Balabhadra–began their return journey to the main Puri shrine. The raths were pulled by security personnel and devotees.
The divine return journey was still on at the time of writing this story. Once they reach the main temple, the three deities will not be shifted to the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine immediately but will remain on their respective chariots for a few days for a number of other rituals like Suna Besa or dressing up of the deities with golden attire, which is scheduled on Monday.
Lakhs of devotees are expected to turn up on the occasion. Like the Rath Yatra, the Bahuda Yatra, too, had its share of unpleasant moments, albeit minor. A devotee identified as Raj Kishore Swain from Nayagarh district fainted due to suffocation and subsequently died in the government-run Puri district headquarters hospital.
Doctors in the hospital said the man had a heart problem previously. Two persons had died while several others were injured in a minor stampede during the Rath Yatra on July 18. Elaborate security arrangements had been made in the temple town for a smooth conduct of the festival on Sunday.
Published 26 July 2015, 18:54 IST