By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : More than four lakh devotees converged in Orissa’s temple town of Puri Monday to witness the ‘Bahuda Yatra’, or the homecoming festival of Lord Jagannath and two other deities, an official said.
Despite the heat and humidity, the beach town witnessed a huge crowd. By evening, the number of devotees may swell further, Laxmidhar Pujapanda, public relations officer of the Jagannath temple, told IANS from Puri, some 55 km from here.
Most of the rituals, including the ceremonial procession of the deities, were performed more than half-an-hour ahead of the schedule Monday, he said.
The Bahuda Yatra marks the return of Lord Jagannath, elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, from the Gundicha temple to the main Jagannath temple about two km away, both in Puri.
The return festival is held nine days after the annual Rath Yatra, which marks the journey of the three deities from the 12th century Jagannath temple in three splendidly decorated wooden chariots to Gundicha temple.
The Ratha Yatra is held on the second day of the waxing moon during the month of Ashadha (June-July) of the Indian calendar.
The deities return to their abode in the same splendidly decorated chariots, which thousands of devotees pull with the help of ropes. A glimpse of the deities on the chariots during the Rath Yatra and Bahuda Yatra considered to be very auspicious.