Bhubaneswar, June 27: An atmosphere of divine love prevailed all around the coastal town of Puri in Odisha as the annual Ratha Yatra festival commenced on Friday with the holy Trinity-- Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra -- stepping out of their sanctum sanctorum in the Shreemandie and headed towards Raths stationed at the Singha Dwar.

The deities were escorted outside the shrine in a ritualistic procession called ‘Dhadi Pahandi’. Beating of Ghant, blowing of Kahali, and chanting of 'Jaya Bada Thakura', 'Jaya Maa Subhara', and 'Jay Jagannath' reverberated throughout the entire atmosphere.

The celestial weapon of Lord Krishna, Chakraraj Sudarshan, was first brought and placed on the chariot of Goddess Subhadra, later followed by Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and finally Lord Jagannath. Then representative idols- Madan Mohan and Ramkrushna- were brought and seated on Nandighosh and Taladhwaj chariots, respectively.

Thereafter, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, offered puja to the holy siblings on the chariots. By the time of filing of this article, Puri King Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singha Deb offered prayer to Lord Balabhadra and was about to conduct ceremonial sweeping of the chariot with a golden broom- the ritual is called Chherapamhara.

The King will also offer prayer to Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath and conduct a sweeping ritual at the two other Raths. Later, the chariots will be pulled by the devotees to the Gundicha temple, the birthplace of Lord Jagannath, around 3km away from the Shreemandir.

Lakhs of devotees thronged the holy city and had a glimpse of Lord Jagannath, elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra atop Raths.

As many as 200 platoons of police force, eight companies of the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, etc., and the commandos of National Security Guard (NSG) have been deployed throughout the sacred coastal town to avoid any untoward incident during the Ratha Yatra. Similarly, around 10,000 personnel of the Odisha Police, Central Armed Police Force and Home Guard have been deployed in Puri and around the city during the Ratha Yatra this year.

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