When the Supreme Court ruled that only 500 people would be allowed to pull each of the three chariots during Rath Yatra in Puri this year, many at the Jagannath Temple were apprehensive.

After all, several thousand people — pilgrims and servitors — pull each of the gigantic chariots on their 2.5km journey every year.

Odisha High Court had earlier asked the state government to consider employing elephants or machines for the job but the apex court, issuing its order on Rath Yatra Eve, suggested no such option. The question on every mind in Puri was: Would just 500 servitors be able to do it?

But on June 23, the three wooden chariots, each more than 45 feet high, rolled along Puri’s Grand Road as smoothly as ever.

The servitors prefer to call it a “miracle”, attributing it to Lord Jagannath’s blessings. Yet these sevayats are known for their superb physique — and boast the reigning Mr India among their ranks.

“We just touched the ropes and the chariots rolled,” said a modest Anil Gochhikar, 40, winner of the Indian Body Building Federation’s Mr India competition in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Anil won bronze in the 2015 world championships and gold in the international championships of bodybuilding in 2016.

Almost all the younger servitors among the temple’s about 10,000 sevayats follow a tough exercise regimen, which includes wrestling.

“This body is useless if it’s not devoted to the service of the Lord,” said Anil, whose well-sculpted body has left many a pilgrim to the temple awestruck. “After turning 30, I decided to follow in the footsteps of my elder brother, a bodybuilder,” he added.

His elder brother Damodar, an advocate-cum-servitor, said the sevayats have for centuries been known for their good physique. “We love to act as bodyguards of the Lord.”

The Gochhikar brothers have opened a modern gymnasium in Puri. “Nearly 70 per cent of our members are from the families of the servitors,” Anil said.

A veteran servitor, Guru Gopinath Suara, 80, explained the link between physical training and the Jagannath culture.

“The Mughals attacked the temple several times. The then Puri kings wanted the servitors to be well built so they could fight to protect the Lord,” he said.

“You need strong bodies even to shift the deities from the sanctum sanctorum to safer places. The servitors moved the deities out of the temple during the attacks.”

Even nowadays, during Rath Yatra, the servitors need to shift the idols from the sanctum to the chariots, which needs strength.

“The idol of Lord Jagannath is more than 7 feet tall and his arms are long. It takes nearly 70 servitors to shift Him. If we are not well built, how can we serve Him?” senior servitor Ramakrishna Das Mohapatra said.

Most of the servitors, though, rue the lack of government patronage for their bodybuilding efforts.

“Besides other food supplements, one needs a minimum 3 litres of milk and 2kg of cottage cheese daily. It’s expensive, but we spend out of our own pockets to remain fit so we can serve the Lord better,” Damodar said.

Now the servitors are gearing to repeat their “miracle” on July 1, during the Bahuda Yatra when the deities will return home from the Sri Gundicha Temple.

“The chariots will be pulled by the servitors…. Around 70 platoons of force will be deployed in Puri for smooth conduct of the Bahuda Yatra. Devotees have been barred from coming to either witness the yatra or take part in it. They can watch the proceedings on TV sitting at home,” additional director general of police Soumendra Priyadarshi said on Tuesday.