Jagannath Rath Yatra reaches destination

Lord Jagannath's chariot, the red and yellow Nandighosh, reaches the Gundicha temple, its destination.

Lord Jagannath's chariot, the red and yellow Nandighosh, reached the Gundicha temple, its destination, on Tuesday.

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The other two chariots, 'Taladhwaja' of Balabhadra and 'Darpadalan' of Subhadra, arrived at their destination on Monday evening.

Temple sources said Lord Jagannath's chariot could not be pulled to its destination on Monday owing to sunset. The chariots are not generally pulled after sunset, said a temple spokesman.

Police said the Lord's chariot reached its destination at 11.45 am without any disturbance barring a minor incident involving snapping of ropes.

Official sources said the ropes were procured from Kerala as they were considered to be strong and manufactured in a scientific manner.

"The ropes had become wet in last night's rainfall. This could have been the reason behind snapping of the ropes," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, temple administration on Tuesday decided to reschedule the 'Pahandi' (ceremonial processions) ritual of deities till Wednesday. Earlier, it was fixed to conduct the 'Pahandi' this evening.

"According to tradition, the deities are taken on Pahandi one day after all the chariots reach the destination," said temple's chief administrator Suresh Chandra Mohapatra.

The deities would stay at the Gundicha temple for seven days before the return car festival, sources said.