On July 1st, the festivities of the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath began across India. In many States, the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra is being held with full public participation after a two-year break.
The Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra is a nine-day annual Rath Yatra of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath.
It is taken out every year on Ashadhi Bij, the second day of Ashadh month of the Hindu calendar.
Ahmedabad celebrated its 145th Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra this year.
The yatra comprises three chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balram and his sister Subhadra.
Along with these, this year’s yatra has 15 decorated elephants, 100 tableaux trucks and members of religious groups, akharas and singing troupes.
In tableaux, artists have paid tributes to late cricketer Shane Warne, COVID care centres and have highlighted other contemporary issues.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, along with the temple’s head priest, performed the Pahind Vidhi.
It is a symbolic ritual of cleaning the way for the chariots, using a golden broom before the start of the Yatra.
The procession starts from the 400-year-old Jagannath temple and covers an 18-km-long route in the Old City of Ahmedabad.
