Puri, AP 30: The construction of chariots for the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri gathered momentum on Thursday with Guja Anukula ritual.

Guja Anukula is one of the key rituals in chariot construction, involving the installation of a wooden plate that connects the wheel base and the floor of the chariot. Traditionally, the initiation of chariot wheel construction is carried out at Ratha Khala on Nrusingha Chaturdashi.

Rupakara servitors conduct the Guja Anukula ritual to mark the occasion, laying the wheels of the three Raths—Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath—one after another over the following days until the Chaka Dera ritual. Narasingha Mohapatra, Maharana servitor of the Taladhwaja chariot, said, “Rupakara servitors perform the Guja Anukula ritual, while Bhoi servitors supply logs of different sizes for the wheel construction of the three chariots.”

Coinciding with this, Lord Jagannath is also worshipped in the form of Nrusingha at Srimandir to mark Nrusingha Chaturdashi, which falls on the 14th day of Shukla Paksha in the Odia month of Baishakha every year. According to the Skanda Purana, Lord Jagannath is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and Nrusingha appeared on the lunar 14th day of Baishakha in Swati Nakshatra. This is why Nrusingha Jayanti is celebrated annually at Srimandir.

As per legend, during his stay in Puri, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu advised his disciples to have darshan of Lord Nrusingha and offer obeisance through Danda Pranam before viewing Lord Jagannath. He used to worship Lord Nrusingha at the third step of Baisi Pahacha before proceeding to Sri Jagannath, a practice that continues in several mutts in Puri.

On this occasion, the idol of Nrusingha is brought from Dakhina Gruha and installed at the Mukti Mandap. Idols of Yagya Nrusingha and Nrusingha are carried in palanquins to Jagannath Ballav Mutt, where a special puja is held at dusk, commemorating the legend of Nrusingha emerging from a pillar in the evening as an incarnation of Vishnu, the Purushottama.