National Desk, 20 June: The 146th Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra was flagged off in Ahmedabad on Tuesday morning by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel who on Monday night performed a “Pahind Vidhi” at the shrine.
Every year, Chief Minister participates in the “Pahind Vidhi,” a symbolic ceremony that entails clearing the path for the chariots with a golden broom and flagging off the Rath Yatra. Bhupendra Patel upheld the custom and was the first Chief Minister to officially launch the 145th Rath Yatra.
According to a statement from the chief minister’s office, Chief Minister Patel also performed the Ashadhi Beej Rath Yatra’s Pahind ceremony by cleaning the chariot of God with a gold broom.
According to the statement, Chief Minister Patel wished everyone a happy Rath Yatra and prayed that Jagannathji would bless them all with good health, happiness, wealth and peace in their life. Harsh Sanghvi, a minister of state in the home department and Jagdish Vishwakarma a minister of state in the industries department both attended this occasion.
As thousands of worshippers went to the 18-km path of the procession to catch a glimpse of the deities, tight security was put in place. Regarding the security preparations for the Rath Yatra, state home minister Sanghvi stated that Gujarat Police had made all necessary preparations. In addition, Gujarat Police have been posted to patrol the entire path. Along the route, there will be about 25,000 police officers stationed.
The 400-year-old Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur district was the starting point of the traditional Rath Yatra which started out with the installation of the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on the chariot.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah participated in the ‘Mangla Aarti’ (a religious rite) at the Jagannath temple earlier today in preparation for the Rath Yatra in Jamalpur. He is visiting Gujarat for a day.
After the Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra on Oidhsa, the ‘Rath Yatra’ Festival celebrated in Ahmedabad, Gujarat is regarded as the second-largest Rath Yatra in the nation.
The Hindu holiday of Rath Yatra is observed on the second day of the two-week long Ashadha month which falls on June 20 this year.
One of the well-known Hindu festivals that is observed all around the world is the Rath Yatra. In the state of Odisha at Shri Kshetra Puri Dham, Lord Jagannath is connected to the Yatra. Hindu writings including the Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and Kapila Samhita all reflect its past.
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