The Grand Road in this holy town turned into a virtual sea of humanity as lakhs of devotees thronged the famous boulevard to witness the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings on Friday.

Devotees, priests and servitors completed the Rath Yatra-related rituals much before time this year, paving the way for the pulling of the chariots almost three hours ahead of schedule, a record of sorts.

With Bada Danda (Grand Road) teeming with devotees and the sound of gongs and cymbals filling the air, Lord Balabhadra’s mount Taladhwaja was the first to be pulled amid chants of “Jai Jagannath” and “Hari bol”.

Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb sweeps the chariot decks The Telegraph Picture

After returning from his foreign trip, chief minister Naveen Patnaik proceeded to Puri to participate in the Yatra. Governor Ganeshi Lal, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other dignitaries too pulled the chariots. “Bada Danda is filled with sea of devotees for the spiritual journey of the Holy Trinity,” Naveen tweeted.

The pulling of the chariots commenced at around 12.35pm. Taldhwaja was followed by the Darpadalana, the chariot of Subhadra and then rolled Nandighosa, the chariot of Lord Jagannath. As the chariots rolled towards Sri Gundicha, where the deities will be vacationing for over a week, the enthusiasm of the devotees, who were pulling the chariots after a Covid-induced hiatus of two years, knew no bounds.

Gongs and cymbals beat in unison as devotional fervour reached a crescendo. Many danced with joy and sang devotional songs as the chariots moved towards their destination.

The Rath Yatra rituals began early on Friday morning. The deities were then brought to the chariots in Pahandi Bije or in ceremonial processions by the servitors. This was followed by the Chita Lagi ritual.

In keeping with the tradition, Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati paid obeisance to the sibling deities on their chariots. He moved from one chariot to another, accompanied by his disciples and servitors. Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb arrived in “Tamjan” (a traditional palanquin with a hood) in a procession from his palace for the Chhenra Panhra (ceremonial sweeping of chariot decks) ritual. He was escorted to the chariots by the servitors. He then conducted the Chhera Panhara ritual using a broom with a gold-plated handle as servitors sprinkled water on the chariots.

After the completion of this ritual by noon, the servitors removed the “Charamala” (wooden ladder) and put up the wooden horses on the chariots for the deities to embark on their nine-day annual sojourn.

More than 180 platoons of armed police personnel were deployed in and around Puri while around 50 CCTV cameras were fitted on the Grand Road and other strategic locations.