OdishaLIVE Bureau
A look at Lord Jagannath’s journey to Gundicha temple (his aunt’s home).
The Rath Yatra starts on second lunar day (Asadha shukla dwitiya) of the Hindu month of Ashadha.
On the first day, the deities are transported in three different glorious chariots, drawn by the many devotees to Gundicha temple from Sri Mandir, Puri. The three chariots involved in the emanation are: one for each deity with central chariot called the Nandighosha, carrying the main deity of Jagannath and the second chariot known as Taladhwaja carrying Balabhadra, and the third chariot called the Darpadalana carrying Subhadra.
Firstly,the elder brother Balabhadra, then sister Subhadra and then Lord Jagannath proceed for Gundicha temple. The procession progresses down the 3 km long “Bada Danda” and reaches the gates of the Gundicha temple before dark. The deities remain in the chariots on the first day and enter the Gundicha Temple on the second day. They reside at the Gundicha temple for the seven days. After residing at Gundicha temple for a week, the deities return back to the Sri Mandir. On their way back to Sri Mandir they eat PodaPitha.
Hera Panchami is a ritual of Goddess Lakshmi observed during the fifth day of Rath Yatra in the Lord Jagannath Temple. During Rath Yatra, Lord Jagannath comes out on a sacred outing with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra along with his divine weapon Sudarsana chakra, leaving behind his wife Mahalaxmi and hence Goddess Laxmi expresses her anger.
She proceeds to the Gundicha Temple in the form of a Subarna Mahalaxmi and threatens him to come back to the temple at the earliest. To make her happy, Jagannath offers her agyan mala. Seeing the Goddess angry, the sevakas close the main door of Gundicha temple.
In this unique ritual, the Goddess orders one of her sevakas to damage a part of the Nandighosa chariot. And then she hides behind a tamarind tree outside the Gundicha Temple, after some time she escapes to her home temple in secrecy, from a different path way known as Hera Gohri lane the unique ritual is enjoyed by lakhs of devotees of Lord Jagannath.
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