Puri (Odisha):

Thousands of people pulled forward giant chariots from the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri towards Gundicha temple, around 2.5 km away, on Sunday afternoon.

The chariot pulling started around 5.20 pm after Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanada Saraswati visited the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra with his disciples and the Puri’s titular king completed the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (chariot sweeping) ritual.

The wooden horses were fitted to the chariots and the servitor pilots guided the devotees to pull the chariots in the right direction.

President Droupadi Murmu performed a ‘parikrama’ of the three chariots and bowed before the deities.

The President, Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan symbolically started the mammoth exercise by pulling the ropes connecting the principal Jagannath chariot. Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik also had a ‘darshan’ of the sibling deities.

Thousands of people pulled the nearly 45-feet tall wooden chariot of Lord Balabhadra. It will be followed by pulling of chariots of Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath.

Rhythmically beating brass cymbals and hand drums, priests surrounded the gods on the canopied chariots as the procession made its slow way through the main street of the temple town.

The air rented with ‘Jai Jagannath’ and ‘Haribol’ as frenzied devotees tried to get a glimpse of the holy occasion.

Different artiste groups performed ‘kirtans’ (religious songs) and Odissi dance in front of the chariots before the procession started.

Around a million devotees are estimated to have converged on this town for the annual car festival. While most of the devotees were from Odisha and the neighbouring states, many from abroad also joined in what is considered one of the largest religious processions globally.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi reached in Puri and met Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati.

Mr Majhi said he got the opportunity to meet the Puri seer, who advised him to provide service and justice to the poor and destitute of the state. The Shankaracharya has also advised the CM to take steps for the renovation of the Srikhetra Puri and Govardhan peeth.

Earlier in the day, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra ascended their respective chariots after the completion of the three-hour-long ‘Pahandi’ ritual at 2.15 pm..

‘Jai Jagannath’ chants, sounds of gongs, conches and cymbals reverberated through the air at Lion’s Gate of the Puri temple as Lord Sudarshan was first escorted to Darpadalan, the chariot of Devi Subhadra.

Following Lord Sudarshan, Lord Balabhadra was taken to his Taladhwaja chariot. Goddess Subhadra, the sister of Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra, was brought to her Darpadalan chariot in a special procession by servitors.

Finally, Lord Jagannath was taken to the Nandighosa chariot in a ceremonial procession amid the sounds of gongs. In the ‘Pahandi’ ritual, deities are brought from the temple to the chariots.

Descending from the ‘Ratna Sinhasana’, the bejewelled throne, the three deities were taken out of the temple down the 22 steps known as ‘Baisi Pahacha’ through the Lion’s Gate.

Several rituals like ‘Mangla Arati’ and ‘Mailam’ were held before the presiding deities set out from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

Rath Yatra will be a two-day affair this year after 53 years due to some celestial arrangements..

In a departure from tradition, some of the rituals, including ‘Nabajouban Darshan’ and ‘Netra Utsav’, will be conducted in a single day on Sunday. These rituals are generally held ahead of the Rath Yatra.

‘Nabajouban Darshan’ means youthful appearance of deities, who were behind the doors for 15 days in a ritual called ‘Anasara’ (quarantine), conducted after ‘Snana Purnima’.

According to mythology, the deities fall ill due to excessive bathing on ‘Snana Purnima’ and therefore remain indoors.

Prior to ‘Nabajouban Darshan’, the priests performed the special ritual called ‘Netra Utsav’ in which the eyeballs of the deities are painted afresh.

Tight security arrangements have been put in place, with the deployment of 180 platoons (one platoon comprises 30 personnel) of security personnel, Puri Superintendent of Police Pinak Mishra said.

Artificial Intelligence-based CCTV cameras have been installed at Badadanda, the venue of the festival, and other strategic locations in the pilgrim town, said ADG (law and order) Sanjay Kumar.

Altogether 46 fire tenders were deployed in various parts of the town and along the sea beach for the Rath Yatra, said DG, fire service, Sudhanshu Sarangi.

As hot and humid weather may prevail, water was sprinkled on the crowd, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Puri:

Fifteen people received burn injuries after a heap of firecrackers exploded during Lord Jagannath’s Chandan Jatra festival in Odisha’s Puri on Wednesday night, police said.

Hundreds of people had gathered on the banks of Narendra Pushkarinee, a waterbody, to witness the rituals when the accident happened, they said.

A group of devotees were celebrating the festival with crackers. Suddenly, a splinter from the burning crackers struck the heap, leading to the explosion, they added.

The burning crackers then hit the people gathered at the spot, and some of them, even jumped into the waterbody to save themselves, police said.

The injured persons were admitted to the district hospital, and the conditions of four of them were critical, a doctor said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the incident and directed officials concerned to ensure proper treatment of the injured.

He said the cost of the treatment would be borne by the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The BJP’s Sambit Patra landed in a row today over a comment that hugely offended Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. As Odisha voted for the Lok Sabha and a new assembly in the Fifth Phase of election, Mr Patra told reporters that the Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity of Puri, “is Modi’s bhakt”. When the Chief Minister shot off an angry protest, Mr Patra issued a clarification, saying it was a “slip of tongue”.

“Lakhs of people have gathered here to see PM Modi. Jagannath is Modi’s bhakt and we are all PM Modi’s family. I cannot control my emotions and I think today is a momentous day for all Odias,” said Mr Patra, who is the candidate from Puri.

It drew an immediate condemnation from Naveen Patnaik, who is hoping for a sixth consecutive term in the state.

“Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is the Lord of Universe. Calling Mahaprabhu a bhakt of another human being is an insult to the Lord. This has hurt the sentiments and demeaned the faith of crores of Jagannatha bhaktas and Odias across the world,” Mr Patnaik posted on social media.

“The Lord is the greatest Symbol of Odia Asmita. Calling Mahaprabhu a bhakt of another human being is totally condemnable. I strongly denounce the statement made by the BJP Puri Lok Sabha candidate and I appeal to the BJP to keep the Lord above any political discourse. By this you have deeply hurt Odia Asmita and this will be remembered and condemned by people of Odisha for a very long time,’ his post read.

Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is the Lord of Universe.

Calling Mahaprabhu a bhakt of another human being is an insult to the Lord. This has hurt the sentiments and demeaned the faith of crores of Jagannatha bhaktas and Odias across the world.

The Lord is the greatest Symbol of…

— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) May 20, 2024

Congress’s Supriya Shrinate also joined issue, posting, “Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Modi… What has happened to the BJP people? Such an insult to our beloved God? this arrogance will come to an end”.

Mr Patra issued a clarification.

“I gave number of bytes today to multiple media channels after the massive success of Shri Narendra Modiji’s Road Show in Puri today, everywhere I mentioned that Modi ji is an ardent “Bhakt” of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu ..by mistake during one of the bytes I pronounced just the opposite ..I know you too know and understand this ..Sir let’s not make an issue out of a nonexistent issue ..we all have “slip of tongue sometimes,” his post read.

Naveen Ji Namaskar!
I gave number of bytes today to multiple media channels after the massive success of Shri Narendra Modiji’s Road Show in Puri today, everywhere I mentioned that Modi ji is an ardent “Bhakt” of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu ..by mistake during one of the bytes I… https://t.co/6Q1Kuj5E6O

— Sambit Patra (Modi Ka Parivar) (@sambitswaraj) May 20, 2024

But the wave of outrage continued.

A post by Kerala Congress read, “Sambit Patra says that Prabhu Jagannath is a Bhakth of Modi. @sambitswaraj, God sends no one away empty, except those who are full of themselves”.

“According to Sambit Patra – “Modi’s bhakt is Jagannath”.. It’s a direct attack on Odia Asmita…… We want Sambit to apologies with folded hands in front of National Media and Each and every citizen of Odisha.  It’s very derogatory… You should mind your language,” Odisha Congress posted on X.

On social media, many demanded a public apology from the BJP leader.