2-day Rath Yatra will be held after 53 years, President Murmu will participate

Jagannath Rath Yatra 2024 Latest News: There is a different kind of enthusiasm in the city of Puri in Orissa for the last two-three days. The city is fully prepared for the smooth conduct of the annual Rath Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath starting from Sunday. This time the event is very special. In fact, after 53 years this Yatra will be of two days.

President with lakhs of devotees on Sunday Draupadi Murmu will also witness this Rath Yatra. The state government has made special arrangements for this. Officials said that the Odisha government has made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the Yatra, which is usually a one-day event but this time a 2-day Rath Yatra will be organized.

Experts say that according to the calculation of planets and constellations, a two-day yatra has been organized this year, whereas before this a two-day yatra was organized in the year 1971. It is being told that some rituals related to this festival related to the three siblings, deities – Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra will also be performed on the same day on Sunday.

The chariots participating in the Rath Yatra have been parked in front of the main entrance of the Jagannath temple, from where they will be taken to the Gundicha temple. The chariots will remain there for a week. Devotees will pull the chariots on Sunday afternoon. This year the Rath Yatra and related ceremonies such as 'Navyovana Darshan' and 'Netra Utsav' will be held on the same day, Sunday i.e. 7 July 2024. These rituals are usually performed before the Rath Yatra.

According to mythology, the deities fall ill due to excessive bathing on Snaan Purnima and hence stay inside. Before the 'Navyovana Darshan', the priests perform a special ritual called 'Netra Utsav' in which the eyeballs of the deities are painted afresh.