Moderate Weather Lends A Serene Backdrop To Lord Jagannath’s Bahuda Yatra
The day began with the customary rituals at the Srigundicha Temple, followed by the Pahandi procession, during which the deities were ceremonially carried to their respective chariots amid chants of devotion.
Puri (Odisha): Pleasant weather and overcast skies provided a fitting backdrop as lakhs of devotees converged on Puri on Friday to witness Lord Jagannath’s Bahuda Yatra, the sacred homeward journey of the sibling deities from the Srigundicha Temple to the Srimandir after their nine-day annual sojourn.
With rain staying away and cloud cover tempering the July heat, the three-kilometre Bada Danda (Grand Road) remained packed through the day with pilgrims awaiting a glimpse of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra atop their towering chariots. For many, joining thousands of hands to pull the chariots was not merely a ritual but a cherished act of faith, believed to invoke divine grace and spiritual merit.
The day began with the customary rituals at the Srigundicha Temple, followed by the Pahandi procession, during which the deities were ceremonially carried to their respective chariots amid chants of devotion. By around 3.30 pm, all three deities had been enthroned on their chariots. Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb then performed the traditional Chhera Pahanra, symbolically sweeping the chariot platforms with a golden broom—an enduring reminder that before the Lord, all are equal.
As the chariots began their slow journey towards the Srimandir in the evening, the Grand Road reverberated with chants of “Jai Jagannath,” “Haribol” and the traditional “Hulahuli.” The rhythmic beats of cymbals, drums, gongs and trumpets, played by hereditary servitor communities of the Jagannath Temple, lent a solemn cadence to the procession, transforming the avenue into a sea of devotion.
Observed nine days after the Rath Yatra, the Bahuda Yatra marks the deities' return to their eternal abode, bringing the annual chariot festival to its concluding phase. Beyond its religious significance, the festival continues to embody Odisha's living spiritual tradition, drawing millions who see in the Lord's annual journey a reaffirmation of faith, humility and the enduring bond between the divine and the devotee.
The Odisha government put in place elaborate security, traffic and crowd-management measures for the festival. Security personnel were deployed at strategic locations, while a comprehensive traffic plan included 31 designated parking zones with capacity for about 7,330 light motor vehicles and over 18,000 two-wheelers. Special traffic diversions and dedicated entry routes for vehicles arriving from the Bhubaneswar side were introduced to facilitate the smooth movement of pilgrims.