By Rajkumar Mohanty
Puri(Odisha), July 4: The nine-day-long Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath got off to a colourful start in this holy town on Friday even as six persons were killed in a stampede and many injured.

The town reverberated with the sounds of cymbals, bells and conches that give testimony to the grand event to be unfurled. Nearly eight lakh of devotees belonging to all religions converged in this abode of Lord Jagannath to witness the festival of chariots – Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra.

Chanting of hymns by the countless disciples of Sankaracharya, ISKCON devotees and devotees of various Mathas added colour and mood to the auspicious ceremony. Their street concert Udanda Nritya to the tunes of mridanga and cymbals, blowing of conch shell and chanting the name of Jagannath in front of the three chariots along the three-km-long Grand Road to Gundicha temple created a serene atmosphere.

The new cult gurus apart from the traditional Vaishnavas have been participating in the festival along with their followers all these years. Every sect or cult has its own dress code that distinguishes them from others.

State Governor Syed Sibtey Razi, several Judges of Odisha High Court, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and most of his cabinet colleagues were present to witness the Rath Yatra.

Gajapati King Divyasingh Dev, the fore most servitor of Lord Jagannath, came in a royal procession riding a palanquin from his palace and performed Chherapahanra (cleaning of the chariots with a gold broom) soon after the Pahandi of the deities was over. Swamy Nischalananda Saraswati, Sankaracharya of Gobardhan Peeth came along with his disciples and worshipped the deities atop the rathas.

As the three chariots rolled on the Grand Road , with Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra rolling first followed by Darpadalan of goddess Subhadra and Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath, devotees raised their hands chanting prayer and hymns making the whole atmosphere resonant with deep respect and devotion to the deities.

Despite inclement weather and the recent floods that snapped rail links with the eastern states of the country with Puri, lakhs of devotees from far off places and abroad thronged the town to participate in annual event. A good number of newly wed couples flocked into this city to pull the ropes of the chariots seeking blessings of the Lords for successful married life.

The volunteers had a tough time in conducting scores of devotees who fell ill due to suffocation and stampede injury while the medicos in the headquarters hospital worked hard to treat them.