Odia community celebrates Jagannath rath yatra

Organised by the Pondicherry Utkal Samaj, the ‘Bahuda Rath Yatra’ was celebrated at the community’s Shri Jagannath Temple in Pattanur and the colourful procession saw the participation of a large number of devotees

Devotees participating at the ‘Bahuda Yatra’ of Lord Jagannath, organised by Pondicherry Utkal Samaj in Puducherry. | Photo Credit: S.S. Kumar

The city’s Odia community took out the ‘Bahuda Rath Yatra’ recently in a recreation of the chariot procession that takes place at the Jagannath temple in Puri.

Also known as the “Return Car Festival”, the colourful procession was celebrated at the community’s Shri Jagannath Temple in Pattanur near the city.

The event was organised by the Pondicherry Utkal Samaj and drew participation from a large number of devotees.

According to the Samaj, the ‘Bahuda Yatra’ is an equally important festival and marks the return journey of Lord Jagannath, brother Lord Balabhadra, and sister Devi Subhadra from the Gundicha temple to their permanent abode, the Jagannath Temple. This is held on the ninth day after the deities — Lord Jagannath (identified as Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu) and his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra — are believed to have fallen sick and escorted in a chariot rally to a designated place away from the temple for a period of convalescence.

In an atmosphere of chanting and rendering of devotional songs to the rhythmic beats of traditional drums, devotees carried the deities from the temple to the rath (chariot). People of all ages from the city and neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu came together to pull the chariot on the temple premises.

The ‘Bahuda Yatra’ began with ‘Chhera Pahanra’ (symbolic sweeping of the chariot) led by Subash Chandra Parija of the Utkal Samaj. The day had commenced with various pujas, followed by the ‘Pahandi’ procession coordinated by Srikanta Khatua.

The pulling of the rath was carried out under the supervision Shashikant Dash in the presence of Chakradhara Behera, Pradeep Kumar Dey, Anjli Das, Purushottam and Kulamani Panigrahi.

According to Mr. Parija, the annual celebration of the rath yatra in the city not only marks a special occasion for the Odia diaspora living far away from native lands, but also symbolises a spirit of unity and inclusivity among people from different regions and backgrounds who gather to partake in the festival.