Chariot Construction for Puri Rath Yatra Begins on Sripanchami

Bhubaneswar: The process for the construction of the chariots for this year’s Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri town commenced on the auspicious occasion of Sripanchami on Friday.

Brahmin priests of the Jagannath Temple performed traditional rituals to consecrate three logs that will be used for building the chariots of the Holy Trinity. The rituals were held in front of the office of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri.

As part of the ceremony, the priests offered prayers to Goddess Saraswati and sanctified the logs with Panchamruta before conducting other customary rites. The consecrated logs are meant for the construction of Nandighosa, the chariot of Lord Jagannath; Taladhwaja, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra; and Darpadalana, the chariot of Devi Subhadra.

SJTA Chief Administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Puri District Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida, Superintendent of Police Prateek Singh, along with senior officials of the district administration and the 12th-century shrine, were present during the ceremony.

According to temple authorities, the Maharana servitors (traditional carpenters) will require a total of 865 pieces of wood to construct the three chariots. The required timber is usually sourced by the state government from the Dashapalla forests in Nayagarh district.

The annual Rath Yatra is one of Odisha’s most significant religious festivals, drawing lakhs of devotees from across India and around the world to the holy town of Puri each year