Sea of People Throng Puri for Rath Yatra

Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra embark on their 9-day annual sojourn to aunt's temple

- Raj Kumar Mohanty & Diana Sahu @ Puri

Inexplicable delay marked the Rath Yatra as none of the three chariots could even be pulled half the distance from Shree Jagannath Temple en route to Gundicha Temple as chaos reigned supreme at the annual festival of the holy Trinity on Friday.

Erratic movement of Lord Balabhadra's Taladhwaja and an uncontrollable crowd triggered a chain of events in which Nandighosha, Lord Jagannath's chariot, which is the last to be pulled, could barely move a few meters and had to halt for the night along Badadanda (Grand Road) at around 7.45 pm.

By the end of the day, which was well into the evening, Taladhwaja was stationed at Balgandi Chhak, while Devi Subhadra's Darpadalana had to be stopped at Marichikot. Lord Jagannath's chariot was pulled for just about 10 meters in a ritualistic manner and halted close to Singhadwara (Lions' Gate) of Shree Jagannath Temple.