Bhubaneswar, March 26 Thousands of devotees participated in the ‘Rukuna Rath Yatra’, the annual car festival of Lord Lingaraj, here on Thursday amid tight security.
The festival, held on the occasion of Ashokashtami, takes place every year in front of the Lord Lingaraj temple in the Old Town area.
Despite soaring temperatures, devotees thronged the 11th-century Shiva shrine to catch a glimpse of the deity on the chariot.
Following daily rituals such as ‘Mangala Alati’, ‘Abakasha Niti’ and ‘Sahanamela’, the bronze idols of ‘Chandrasekhar’ (representative idol of Lord Lingaraj), Devi Rukuna and Ananta Basudev were taken to the chariot from the main temple in a ceremonial procession called ‘Pahandi’, amid chanting of hymns, beating of drums and gongs, and blowing of conch shells.
Although the temple administration had scheduled the chariot pulling at 2.30 pm, it began around 3.45 pm.
The procession was briefly halted after the chariot rope snapped minutes into the pulling, a priest said.
Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan visited the festival and said, "Necessary steps are being taken for smooth public darshan and pulling of the chariot."
The chariot is being pulled along Ratha Road to the Lord’s ‘Mausima’ abode at Rameswar temple, covering a distance of 2.5 km from Lingaraj Temple to Mausima Temple.
"I am feeling blessed after having darshan of the Lord and pulling the chariot. It was my first time," said devotee Srikar Kumar Panda.
The pulling will continue until sunset, after which it is halted as per tradition, a temple official said.
"If the chariot does not reach Rameswar temple before sunset, it will be stopped midway, and the pulling will resume on Friday morning," the official added.
Rukuna Rath is called ‘analeuta’ (unturned) because the chariot does not take a turn during the return journey and is instead pulled from the rear.
The Bahuda Yatra is scheduled for March 30.
A large number of police personnel, along with officers, were deployed for the Rath Yatra and traffic movement was restricted on Ratha Road.
Earlier in the day, Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik and Congress state president Bhakta Charan Das extended greetings to the people on this auspicious occasion of Ashokashtami.
"Heartfelt greetings and best wishes to all on the auspicious occasion of Ashokashtami and the Rukuna Rath Yatra of Lord Sri Lingaraj. May the blessings of Lord Sri Lingaraj fill everyone's lives with happiness, peace, and prosperity," Majhi wrote on X.