Puri: Hands raised in prayer and tears rolling down his cheeks, retired government servant Bharat Sahu stood mesmerised before the brightly decorated chariots of Lord Jagannath and His siblings Balbhadra and Subhadra at the Lion's gate of their 12th century abode, the town's most famous landmark.

Oblivious to the crowd milling around him, he chanted shlokas in the praise of the deities who began their nine-day sojourn to Sri Gundicha, the temple dedicated to their aunt, around 3km away.

"There is no greater pleasure than watching the Lord sitting on his chariot," he muttered to himself.

Sahu was not the only one drowned in devotional fervour that swept through the town, especially Grand Road on which the chariots rolled on Saturday.

The road, popularly called Bada Danda, was chock-a-block with devotees who sang and danced with joy and chanted " Jai Jagannath" and "Hari Bol" every now and then as hundreds of gongs and cymbals beating in unison worked up a devotional frenzy.

There was colour all around with Odissi dancers performing and mimicry artistes dressed up as Lord Shiv and Hanuman regaling the crowd that braved humidity and occasional showers but never budged once from Grand Road, the focal point of the yatra.

Temple sources said rituals leading to the pahandi (the ceremonial procession) of the deities were performed well before time and pulling of the chariots, originally scheduled for 4pm, began around 2.35pm much to the delight of the devotees. Barring allegations of Lord Jagannath's tahia (ornamental headgear) being torn off by some over-enthusiastic devotees during his pahandi, the only other untoward incident reported was the death of an unidentified 70-year-old man.

However, the temple's public relations officer, Laxmidhar Pujapanda, asserted the incident was not connected to the rath yatra.

"The man, who appeared to be a beggar, was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance but perhaps died before reaching there. We don't know where he was picked up from. A lot of coins were found on his person," said Punjapanda, who denied allegations of any deliberate damage to the "tahia" of Lord Jagannath.

After the ceremonial sweeping of the chariot decks - a ritual called chhenra-panhara - by Dibya Singh Deb, the scion of Puri's erstwhile royal family, Taladhwaj, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra, was the first to roll. It was followed by Darpadalan, the chariot of Devi Subhadra. Nandighosh, the mount of Lord Jagannath, the central attraction of the yatra, was the last to be pulled.

By evening, the chariots of Balabhadra and Subhadra had reached their destination, the Sri Gundicha temple. Nandighosh, which could not make it, would have to be pulled again on Sunday.

Given the mammoth crowd and the presence of VIPs including governor Ganeshi Lal and chief minister Naveen Patnaik, security in the town was tight.

While 140 platoons of state and central forces were deployed to keep a watch on the Grand Road and other important places in the town, CCTV cameras monitored from a central control room were set up at vantage points.

While Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalanand Saraswati expressed satisfaction after having a orderly "darshan" of the deities on the chariots, chief minister Naveen Patnaik greeted the people of the state on the occasion.

"My best wishes to the people on the rath yatra," he said.

Senior police officials said the town would remain under a security blanket till the end of the yatra. "It is one of the most important pilgrimage centres in the country. We can't take chances. We are also keeping a close watch on the sea," said a police officer.