By Our Correspondent
BENGALURU: The gold ornamentation ceremony and Return Car Journey of Lord Jagannath were celebrated in Bengaluru with pomp and splendour. After the Bahuda Yatra of the Four Deities from their Nine days sojourn at Aunt’s house, they were decorated in the rarest golden attire on board the chariot. The Devotees were spell bound and overwhelmed by having a glance of Lord of the Universe in His Rajadhiraj dress and having a majestic look atop the colourfully decked up chariot stationed in front of the Temple at Agara. Due to corona interruptions the devotees were denied to have the glimpse of the Gods and Goddess in this royal postures for last two years. As a result unprecedented enthusiasm and unparalleled enchantments witnessed among the spectators this year to have a holy darshan of Lord and get themselves purified. The scene of matching of eyes between devotees and GOD was just momentous and mesmerising.
Earlier the Bahuda Yatra was hosted with tremendous fanfare and unusual spiritual fervour. To mark the Occasion, all the four Deities were offered special Puja at Shri Gundicha temple inside the nearby Ram Mandir. Then the Idols were taken in a grand procession from the Adap Mandap to the aesthetically decorated chariot stationed in front of the Temple. In the afternoon Trustee of the temple Prof. Sitikantha Sadangi conducted the traditional sweeping of the chariot called Chhera Pahanra. At about 3.00 p.m. the much awaited pulling of the chariot started amidst the chanting of hymns, raising the slogans like Hari Bol, Jai Jagannath and playing of musical instruments like Ghanta, Mardala, Cymbals, Jhanja and Mrudanga by the servitors and devotees. The Juggernaut rolled down 600 metre towards the main temple being pulled by a spirited crowd of around 10,000 people.
Both the Car and Return Journey Festivals were well managed and highly successful because of the able and active role played by the Temple ‘s Management Committee, which include Managing Trustee Kamakshi Prasad Panda and Trust Board Members like Nihar Samantara, Dr. Pratap Pani, Justice Jagannath Prasad Udgata, Haraprasad Mohapatra, Manoj Patra, Punyashloka Khuntia, Manoj Mohapatra, Prakash Samantray, Chakradhar Swain and N.R.B. Pattanaik.
