Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 7 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday paid her respects to Lord Jagannath and pulled the ropes of the chariot at the ISKCON Rath Yatra in Kolkata.
Mamata Banerjee performed aarti at the revered temple and offered prayers to Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Suvadra.
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also announced that next year a magnificent Rath Yatra will be hosted in Digha next year.
Extending wishes to fellow countrymen, Banerjee in a post on X said, “Heartiest greetings to everyone today, on the auspicious occasion of the Ratha Yatra. May this day bring peace, amity and prosperity to all by the grace of Lord Jagannath. Today, millions of people across Bengal will join the chariot festival. At historic Mahesh (where we have restored the heritage temple), there will be a huge congregation; at ISKCON Kolkata, I shall join the Lord’s journey. We shall all await the next year’s Ratha Yatra at our new Jagannath Dham of Digha!”
“Happy to announce that, as in Puri, we in West Bengal are also erecting a pride- inspiring temple complex for Lord Jagannath at Digha. The Lord, Balabhadra and Subhadra will be worshipped here too, Rathayatra also will be celebrated,” the West Bengal CM wrote in a post on X on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Jagannath Yatra also began in Ahmedabad with fanfare and excitement on Sunday morning.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi also attended the Rath Yatra festival.
Patel performed the ‘Pahind Vidhi’–the symbolic cleaning of the path for the chariot of Jagannath for the Rath Yatra.
The Rath Yatra, also known as the Chariot Festival, is believed to be as old as the Jagannath Temple in Puri.
According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is celebrated on the Dwitiya Tithi of Shukla Paksha (waxing moon fortnight) in the month of Ashadh. The Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra is scheduled to be celebrated today, July 7, 2024.
The festival is associated with Lord Jagannath, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, and his siblings. During the Yatra, the deities Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra, and his sister Subhadra are carried on wooden chariots from Jagannath Temple to Gundicha Temple in Puri. (ANI)
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