Puri, July 12: Family members of Ramachandra Mishra believe he would go straight to heaven. For, Mishra breathed his last at his Duttatota Sahi residence here on the highly auspicious occasion of bahuda yatra yesterday. He was 68 and is survived by four daughters and a son.

Mishra’s kith and kin were visibly distraught with grief following his demise. However, they thanked god for “taking him away” on such an auspicious day. “Whoever is born is destined to die. But it is everybody’s wish that their last rites are performed at the Swargadwar (cremation ground near the Puri sea beach). He must have done good deeds during his lifetime which is why he passed away on this day. Lord Jagannath returns to His home on bahuda yatra while my father-in-law’s soul left his body to merge with the divine,” said Satyanarayan Praharaj, 43, one of Mishra’s sons-in-law.

Another son-in-law Tapan Kumar Das said it was a matter of honour for those who go to the Swargadwar through the Bada Danda (Grand Road) route.

“Today, Lord Jagannath returns to the main temple using the same road. This cannot be mere coincidence. God blessed my father-in-law for his honesty and simplicity,” he said.

One of the servitors at the Jagannath temple, Harekrushan Mohapatra said according to the Hindu beliefs, a person who dies on auspicious occasions such as the rath yatra is liberated from the cycle of births and rebirths.

“It is considered great luck when one takes birth on rath yatra. And there is nothing like returning to God’s home on bahuda which coincides with the Lord’s return to His abode,” the servitor said.

Such is the day’s significance that in Hindu mythology, too, a number of devotional songs have been written for this day. “Janami thili mun Shri Gundicha dina, marantiki mun bahuda re (I was born on rath yatra and I aspire to die on bahuda)” is a popular song which reflects the sentiments of the devotees associated with the auspicious occasion.

Till the nineteenth century, there was a belief that death by getting crushed under the wheels of Lord Jagannath’s chariot along the Grand Road was a guaranteed method of reaching heaven and attaining nirvana.

However, this practice was stopped and the district administration made elaborate arrangements during the car festival to avoid such deaths.