Jagannath rath yatra continues despite rain, chariots reach Gundicha temple

Despite rain and cloudy sky, thousands of devotees pulled the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra till their destinations at Gundicha temple on Monday, about three km from the main temple in Puri.

The pulling of the chariots to the Gundicha temple were halted midway on Sunday due to sunset. The chariots are not pulled after sunset.

The pulling of chariots resumed this morning following rituals of deities. The chariot of Lord Balabhadra was pulled first at around 9.30 AM followed by that of Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath.

The deities will stay at Gundicha temple for a week during their nine-day Ratha Yatra festival. The devotees can see the Lords atop the chariot till Tuesday before they are taken to the Gundicha temple in a procession. Meanwhile, the police have made elaborate security arrangement around the chariots and no devotee is allowed to climb them or touch the deities.