Baripada: There was chaos among devotees during the Bahuda Yatra here after a part of the Nandighosha chariot of Lord Jagannath broke, the second Shreekhetra of Odisha Monday.
While thousands of devotees were pulling the chariot of Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosha towards Jagannath temple from Mausi Maa temple three spokes of the wheel broke.
Chariot pulling had to be halted midway due to this development. Devotees panicked and the chariot pulling was halted.
Unlike Puri where the deities complete their annual sojourn in nine days that ended Sunday, devotees of Baripada observe it with devotion for 11 days with traditional rituals.
While the Trinity in Puri starts their return journey on the day of Bahuda, the deities here only ascend the chariots on this day. The chariot is pulled in two days.
The Pahandi was conducted Sunday and the annual sojourn of the three deities, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra commenced Monday. However, half way through the exercise, three spokes of a wheel of the Nandighosa gave way halting the return journey. The Bahuda Yatra was stopped while this report was filed.
The Bahuda Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Baripada is held a day after Puri’s Bahuda Yatra. The 11-day long Ratha Yatra here is famous for the practice of pulling the chariot of Goddess Subhadra which is done only by women since 1975.
This was started by then Collector Vivekananda Patnaik to commemorate the International Day for Women which gave the opportunity to women to touch the rope of the three chariots. Nowadays it is also followed in Gosaninuagoan of Berhampur in Ganjam district.
PNN
