The stage is ready for the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings with the three chariots, all decked up, ready to roll on the Grand Road (Bada Danda) of the holy town on Sunday.

The chariots, each weighing 200 to 300 tonnes, will take the deities to Shree Gundicha Temple (popularly known as their birthplace), about 2.5km from their abode.

On Saturday, the carpenters and artists gave the chariots their final touches. As this is the first Rath Yatra under the new BJP government led by Mohan Charan Majhi, all possible steps are being taken ensure a seamless conduct of the event. Majhi joined a cleanliness campaign in Puri ahead of the Rath Yatra.

On Majhi’s request, President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to join the Rath Yatra on Sunday while Swami Nishalananda Saraswati is scheduled to arrive on Saturday. Spiritual leader and educator Jagadguru Rambhadracharya has already reached Puri.

After 53 years, the major rituals of the deities preceding the Rath Yatra, like Nabajouban Darshan (Lord giving darshan to the devotees after being in hibernation for nearly two weeks) and Netra Utsav (Festival of Eyes), fall on the day of the Rath Yatra.

Multiple rituals associated with the Rath Yatra make it tough for the servitors and the administration to ensure everything goes smoothly. Therefore, the temple administration has decided to hold the Rath Yatra for two days — Sunday and Monday. The devotees will pull the chariots on both the days, which have been declared state holidays.

All three chariots were pulled by the devotees and the police from the Rath Khela (the place where the chariots are made) to the Singhadwara (Lions’ Gate) of the temple and placed there. Rath Khela is only 100 metres away from the Singhadwara.

The chariot of Lord Jagannath, popularly known as Nandighosh, is the heaviest among the three. It weighs around 280-300 tonnes. The weight of the chariot of Lord Balabhadra (Taladhwaja) is around 250 tonnes and the chariot of Goddess Subhadra (Darpadalan) is around 200 tonnes.

Nandighosh is 45.6-foot tall and has 16 wheels, Taladhwaja is 45-foot tall and has 14 wheels and Darpadalan is 44.6-foot high and has 12 wheels. Nearly 10,800 cubic feet of wood is used to build the three chariots. Heavy iron pieces are fitted into them at different points for support and strength. As many as 250 workers are engaged in the construction of the chariots over 57 days.

As per the schedule, the Pahandi Bije of the deities would begin on Sunday at 1.10pm. On Pahandi Bije, the massive idols of the deities, each around 7-foot
tall, would be taken out from the temple’s sanctum sanctorum by the servitors and installed on the mounts of the chariots.

Following the completion of rituals, the chariots would be pulled by the devotees one by one. The pulling of chariots would begin at 5pm. The chariots will be pulled again on Monday.

The deities would stay for seven days in the Shree Gundicha Temple and return on the same chariots on the day of Bahuda, the return journey on July 15. However, they would remain on the mounts of the three chariots in front of the main shrine and would enter the temple on July 19, the day of Niladri Bije.