Rain Fails To Deter Devotees
Heavy rain could not keep hundreds of thousands of devotees away from India’s coastal city of Puri, where worshippers packed the streets for the annual Jagannath Ratha Yatra.Footage shows the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra carried from the Jagannath Temple on three towering wooden chariots, with security personnel maintaining order as devotees flooded the streets for a chance to see the procession.
“I am very excited because people from all over the world come to see the Ratha Yatra. I also like to see the Ratha Yatra, because it is very close to my home and it’s our temple, that’s why,” said devotee Saros Kumar Pradhan.
Global Pilgrims Brave The Rain
Sukundh Sahoo said the downpours had done little to thin the crowds, as devotees stressed the festival’s spiritual importance and the joy of seeing Jagannath beyond the temple walls.
“The Ratha Yatra is world famous, no one wants to miss it.This year, there are a lot of people. It has been raining for the last two to three days in Puri. We never thought that so many people would come,” he shared.
Festival Opens Access To All
For many worshippers, the procession offers a rare chance to see the deities outside the Jagannath Temple. Entry to the temple is restricted to Hindus, but the public chariot festival allows people of different faiths and backgrounds to view the deities.”There is caste discrimination. Not everyone is allowed inside the temple.
So, once a year, people who cannot go inside the temple come to see the Ratha Yatra,” explained Naik.Ratha Yatra is one of Odisha’s most important religious and cultural festivals. Devotees pull the three chariots along Puri’s Grand Road towards the Gundicha Temple.
Massive Turnout Ends In Tragedy
The Odisha government estimated that between 800,000 and 900,000 people attended the July 16 procession, including pilgrims from across India and abroad.However, the festival was marred by the deaths of two devotees in separate incidents.
One man reportedly died after being caught in a sudden crowd surge, while another suffered a cardiac arrest.Several other worshippers were treated in hospital after falling ill, although the Odisha government denied that a stampede or failures in crowd management had caused the deaths.
Article by Viory.
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