BHUBANESWAR: Thousands of pilgrims have flocked to the Holy City to witness the beginning of the 21-day water sports festival―Chandan Yatra―of Lord Jagannath. The festival is celebrated annually on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.
Chandan Yatra takes place in the month of Vaisaksha for six weeks. This is the longest festival celebrated in the state. It is also termed as Gandhalepana Yatra. The festival is celebrated during peak of summer. Hence, to keep the deities cool during the time, devotees apply sandalwood paste (chandana) over Radha Madhava and other representatives of the actual idols.
A lot of foreign tourists participated in the festival due to its appeal. All devotees including children and pilgrims are offered a chance to grind chandana for the pleasure of the deities. The 42-day long festival is observed in two parts: Bahara Chandana and Bhitara Chandana.
The celebration starts from Akshaya Tritiya and continues for 21 days. Construction of the chariots for the annual Car Festival starts from the same day. The representative idols of the main deities of the Jagannath temple as well as five Shivalingas known as the ‘Pancha Pandava’ are taken in a procession from the Singhadwara (the Lion Gate) of the Jagannath temple at Puri to the Narendra Pokhari (pond).
On the way the deities are worshiped by different Mutts and offered ‘Bhoga’. These offerings are called ‘Panti Bhoga’. The whole journey continues for 21 days.
After various rituals, the deities Madanmohan, Bhudevi, Sridevi and Ramakrishna are taken on two chapas (boats), named Nanda and Bhadra, on an excursion around the Narendra Tritha. The boats are beautifully decorated generally in red and white colour to give the resemblance of a swan floating in the water.
Every day, two rounds of boat moving called ‘Dina Chapa'(during daytime) and ‘Rati Chapa'(during night) takes place. During first week, both large and small Radha Madhava deities are covered with Chandana. During second and third week, small Radha Madhava deities are covered with chandana.
One of the priests said, “The pond this year is not clean and proper due to the aftermath of cyclone Fani. Moreover, as the nearby places are not completely cleared for travelling, devotees are facing a lot of problems.”
One of the local resident said, “The place is not as clean as it used to be. This has resulted in lesser number of visitors this year. Proper publicity and advertisement of the epic sports festival is required to draw tourists on the occasion.”
