Bhubaneswar, May 9: The auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya is a celebration in itself and also the day when preparations for the rath yatra in Puri begin.

While the urban population headed for jewellery shops, people rural Odisha engaged themselves in traditional festivities and prayed for a good harvest.

In Puri, three logs were consecrated with the agyan mala or garland of permission of Lord Jagannath. Once the priests were through with the rituals of ratha anukula, carpenters began their initial work to build the three chariots. In Puri, work on building the chariots began today at the ratha khala near the Jagannath temple with the three 12-feet logs of soura katha.

Akshay Tritiya is also the day when Chandan yatra or summer festival of the deities at Puri temple takes place. Like every year, today representative deities of the temple were carried out in a procession to the Narendra tank and put on a decorated boat. After they were seated on the boat, the deities, including Madanmohan, Bhudevi and Sridevi, Panchu Pandava and others, took rounds of the tank. The ritual known as " chappa khela" helps the deities get relief from the sweltering heat.

In Bhubaneswar, a similar Chandan yatra was held at the Bindusagar lake for Lord Lingaraj. However, the lack of co-ordination between authorities of the Lingaraj temple and the Kapileswar temple delayed the event till late in the evening.

In urban areas such as Bhubaneswar, a sizeable number of people visited jewellery stores to grab discounts offered on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya. Most jewellers in the city tried to attract buyers by offering big discounts on making charges and by giving away gold coins or other attractive gifts on big purchases. Though the rush was thinner compared to previous years, jewellery shops in Bhubaneswar were still crowded.

"It is believed that if you buy gold, utensils or precious metal or jewellery, you take home good fortune on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya," said Manorama Patnaik while going through some neck pieces at a jewellery store. However, people in rural areas feel that buying gold is a new phenomenon and they prefer to stick to the tradition of performing rituals before sowing seeds on Akshay Tritiya. Farmers worshipped Mother Earth for a good harvest and sowed seeds ceremonially in what is called muthi chhuan or muthi anukula or akhi mutha.

Temples and mutts in many parts of the state organised mass public feast or offered food to gods and goddesses. The day was also celebrated as Lord Parsuram's birthday.