Sea of humanity throngs Puri as Rath Yatra of Holy Trinity gets underway

Amid religious fervour and spiritual passion, lakhs of devotees thronged the pilgrim town of Puri to witness the famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and their sister Devi Subhadra on Friday, even as the pulling of the chariots was delayed.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

Lord Balabhadra's chariot led the way followed by that of Devi Subhadra; both went a short distance and till 7 p.m. 'Nandigosh', the chariot of Lord Jagannath, had not moved.

A chaotic scene occurred as the chariot of Lord Balabhadra moved away from the directed path. In the process there was a delay in setting it right and clearing the crowd from the cordoned area. After a delay of more than one hour, the chariot resumed its journey and it was only then that the chariot of Devi Subhadra was brought out. Till 7.10 p.m., Nandigosh, the chariot of Lord Jagannath had not moved, raising question as to whether it will be pulled after dusk or not. Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said it will be pulled today. Apparently, it will be pulled a token few metres and resume on Saturday.

He also underplayed the deviation of Lord Balabhadra's chariot saying it does happen and there is nothing unusual, the movement is not always in a straight line.