Rukuna rath of Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, March 31: Thousands of devotees today pulled the Rukuna rath of Lord Lingaraj under a cloudy sky here to mark Ashokasthami. The Rukuna rath yatra of Lord Lingaraj precedes the famous car festival of Lord Jagannath at Puri, which is held in June or July.

Standing on buildings along the road, a large number of devotees cheered as the four-wheeled 35feet chariot, draped in yellow, red, white and blue cloth, rolled down the road called “rath danda”. Devotees from across India and abroad had gathered to watch the proceedings.

However, the state government’s decision to cancel the local holiday today, prevented many people from witnessing the spectacle.

“I come to this festival every year. But this year I was busy with office work and could not make it,” said Shyamasundar Rath, a state government employee.

The chariot pulling began at 4.15pm, an hour late, but much earlier than previous years.

“The temple gates were opened at 4am and the rituals started. People were allowed to have a darshan of the deities, called Sahan Mela, after 4.30am. Other rituals followed following the schedule prepared earlier by the temple administration and the priests,” said A.K. Pattnaik, executive officer of the temple administration.

After all the rituals were performed inside the temple, the bronze idols of three deities — Chandrasekhar (representative of Lord Lingaraj), Rukmini and Basudeva — were taken out of the temple and installed on the 35feet chariot parked outside the shrine amidst loud beats of gongs, blowing of conchs and chanting of hymns. This ritual, called Pahandi, was performed around 1.30pm.

Mythology has it that on this day, Sita in the Ramayana had offered Ashoka flowers to the gods while she was confined in the Ashoka forest by demon king Ravan.

Managobinda Mahasupakar, a priest at the Lingaraj temple said the Rukuna rath yatra is older than the Puri car festival. “When the demon Tripurasura instilled fear in all creatures on the earth, the gods made a special chariot and offered it to Lord Shiva to kill the evil power. He was accompanied by goddess Shakti or Rukmini. Hence, this is called the Rukuna rath yatra,” said Mahasupakar.

Preparations for the rath yatra had begun yesterday with neta uchhaba (flag ceremony) when the chariot was ceremonially purified by the priests and a flag was fixed on the top of the chariot. The chariot was washed with holy water from a well called Marichi Kunda.

Then, the water was auctioned with the first pot of water being sold at Rs 13,000. It is believed that barren women can conceive after bathing with this water on this auspicious day.

As custom goes, the Rukuna rath never “takes a turn” like the chariots at Puri. When this chariot returns after a five-day retreat at Mausima temple, the chariot is drawn from behind. The altar of the deities is only reversed. That is why the Rukuna rath is also called 'analeuta' (the chariot that does not take a turn).

Police made elaborate security arrangements for the smooth functioning of the festival. Twelve platoons of police were deployed to maintain law and order and manage the crowd. They were also keeping watch on the trouble mongers.

The temple administration also had arranged drinking water for the devotees while fire brigade vehicles and water tankers sprinkled water on the road to reduce dust.

A fair was held near the Mausima temple on the occasion to receive the chariot. Foreign tourists and devotees were seen taking part in the festival with great enthusiasm.