Three chariots before embarking on bahuda yatra in Puri. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Thousands of devotees thronged the Jagannath temples in the Millennium City to witness the bahuda yatra or the homecoming of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

Rath yatra and bahuda yatra are celebrated in a grand manner at Dolmundai and Chandni Chowk temples here in the city.

“Every year, all my family members visit the Dolmundai and Chandni Chowk temples where the festival is celebrated in a grand manner,” said Divakar Swain, a devotee.

More than 50,000 people had thronged both the places to pull the chariots.

“Adequate security and traffic arrangements were made so that the rituals could be conducted smoothly today (Monday),” said a senior police officer.

The stage is now set for the suna besha ritual scheduled to be held tomorrow.

Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra would be decorated with gold ornaments and then the trio would give darshan to the devotees from the chariots.

All preparations for the suna besha have been completed at Dolmundai temple. Here, the deities would be adorned in gold ornaments weighing around 5kg.

“All the preparations for the suna besha have been completed and the gold ornaments have been thoroughly polished,” said Ganeshwar Mulia, a member of the trust board.

Mulia said rath yatra was being celebrated at Dolmundai since 1962 when the festival was held with a single chariot. The tradition of three chariots began after the construction of the temple in 1982.

“It is a fair-like atmosphere during rath yatra that draws thousands of devotees to Cuttack. It is really good to see the younger generation keen to carry forward the tradition and take active part in all the major festivals,” said Kartik Rath, a local resident.