NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JUNE 23
A symbolic Rath Yatra was organised in the Lord Jagannath temple premises on Tuesday after the Gujarat High Court rejected the state government’s plea to carry out the public procession.
અમદાવાદ શ્રી જગન્નાથજી મંદિર ખાતે મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી વિજયભાઈ રૂપાણીએ ભગવાન શ્રી જગન્નાથજીની રથયાત્રાનો શુભારંભ પહિંદવિધી કરાવીને કર્યો હતો. ભગવાન જગન્નાથના આશિર્વાદ સમગ્ર રાજ્ય પર ઉતરે અને ગુજરાત સુખી સમૃદ્ધ બને તથા આ વર્ષ યશકલગીનું વર્ષ બને તેવી પ્રાર્થના કરી છે. pic.twitter.com/cAwocVhqoc
— Gujarat Information (@InfoGujarat) June 23, 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the citizens on the occasion of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra and said that this journey filled with reverence brings prosperity and good luck.
https://twitter.com/DDNewsGujarati/status/1275300922575339520?s=20
For the first time in 143 years, this world-renowned event was held without the accompaniment of troupes, tableaux, and public participation in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
અમદાવાદ માં ભગવાન જગન્નાથજીની ૧૪૩મી રથયાત્રા ના શુભ અવસર પર મહાપ્રભુ જગન્નાથના સહુ ભક્તોને હ્રદયપૂર્વકની શુભકામનાઓ
ભગવાન જગન્નાથ સહુ લોકો પર પોતાની કૃપા બનાવી રાખે અને દેશને જલ્દીથી કોરોનાની આ મહામારીમાંથી મુક્ત કરે, તેવી કામના કરૂ છું.
જય જગન્નાથ!
— Amit Shah (Modi Ka Parivar) (@AmitShah) June 23, 2020
Early in the morning, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani performed ”Pahind Vidhi”, a ritual of cleaning the road with a golden broom, for the chariots of Lord Jagannath, his sister Subhadra and brother Balram to embark on their journey.
Vijay Rupani on Tuesday thanked Trustee and Mahant of the Shree Jagannathji Temple for arranging Rath Yatra inside the temple premises after the government failed to get permission from High Court to hold it amid COVID-19 outbreak.
શ્રી જગન્નાથજી મંદિર ખાતે ભગવાન શ્રી જગન્નાથજીની ઐતિહાસિક ૧૪૩મી રથયાત્રા પ્રસંગે પહિંદવિધી કરતા માન.મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી વિજયભાઈ રૂપાણીજી.@vijayrupanibjp @PradipsinhGuj #RathYatra #RathYatra2020 pic.twitter.com/ZoWV4Gx0G7
— Bijal Patel
(Modi Ka Parivar) (@ibijalpatel) June 23, 2020
After the ritual, three chariots began a symbolic yatra without the usual festivities inside the premises of the Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area of the city.
In a late-night judgment, the high court refused to change its earlier order which stayed the yatra, and asked the temple to go for a symbolic procession inside its premises, instead of taking out a grand procession in the city.
Following the order, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his wife Anjaliben Rupani reached the temple early Tuesday morning and performed ”Pahind Vidhi”.
This is the 143rd Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, and for the first time it is devoid of the usual procession, temple trustee Mahendra Jha said, adding that very few people were allowed inside the temple premises in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.
— Nitin Patel (Modi ka Parivar) (@Nitinbhai_Patel) June 23, 2020
After performing ”Pahind Vidhi”, the chief minister said his government was ready to even impose a curfew on the route so that the procession could be taken out without risking the health of people.
“We had requested the high court to grant us permission on the lines of the Supreme Court”s nod to carry out Rath Yatra in Puri. The hearing went on till late Monday night but the high court did not give us permission. Now, the chariots will move inside the temple premises,” Rupani told reporters before leaving.
As per the tradition, youths from the Khalasi community pulled the chariots inside the temple premises.
Traditionally, the procession, led by chariots, would start early morning from the 400-year-old temple and return by late evening. It used to take a one-hour break at Saraspur for lunch.
Lakhs of people used to gather along the route on ”Ashadhi Beej” every year to catch a glimpse of the decorated elephants and tableaux moving around in some 100 trucks.
The procession used to come back to the Lord Jagannath Temple after covering a distance of 18 km in 12 hours.
But this time, the chariots will remain inside the temple premises.
Modi greets nation on Rath Yatra, prays for prosperity
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday greeted the citizens on the occasion of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra and said that this journey filled with reverence brings prosperity and good luck.
“My heartiest greetings to all of you on the auspicious occasion of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra. I wish that this journey filled with reverence and devotion brings happiness, prosperity, good luck and health to the lives of the countrymen,” Modi said in a tweet.
“Jai Jagannath,” he said.
The Supreme Court had on Monday allowed holding of the historic Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra at Puri with certain conditions
