Puri, July 7: The pulling of chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, which was called off Wednesday after sunset, resumed Thursday morning, and the three chariots finally arrived near Sri Gundicha temple, their final destination.
The three presiding deities of the 12th-century Srimandir were taken out from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple Wednesday for their nine-day sojourn in Sri Gundicha temple in the holy seaside town. But none of the chariots could reach the destination before sunset. As per tradition, the pulling of the chariots is barred after sunset. Amid tight security, hundreds of thousands of devotees pulled the chariots Thursday morning after the mandatory rituals for the lords were performed by the servitors atop the chariots.
The lords were not taken to Sri Gundicha temple since it was a Thursday, as per tradition, and they are spending the night on their respective chariot. The deities will be taken inside Sri Gundicha temple Friday through a ceremonial pahandi procession. The three deities would return to their original abode July 14. UNI
