Puri, June 24: The sacred Chandan Yatra, the famous water-sport festival of Lord Jagannath, has reached its final phase with the observance of the traditional and special Rajendrabhishek ritual at the Shree Jagannath Temple on Wednesday.
Extensive preparations have been completed by the temple administration and servitors to conduct the centuries-old ritual in accordance with established traditions.
According to temple sources, after the completion of the Sandhya Alati and Sandhya Dhupa rituals in the evening, the divine Agyanmala (garland of command) will be offered from the deities. Following this, Madanmohan, the representative idol of Lord Krishna, will be ceremonially brought from the Ratna Singhasan and placed on a special cot for the ritual proceedings.
As part of the traditional observances, the temple's Jay-Vijay Dwara will be closed and a secret ritual will be performed inside the Jagamohan in complete darkness.
After the completion of the Alata Lagi ritual, a royal messenger, known as the Dagara, will formally present the marriage proposal of Goddess Rukmini before Lord Madanmohan, marking an important ceremonial prelude to the divine wedding festivities.
Upon completion of the Rajendrabhishek ceremony, Lord Madanmohan will be seated on a beautifully decorated chariot and taken around the inner precincts of the temple. The procession will be accompanied by traditional musical instruments, including bells, trumpets, conches, ceremonial umbrellas, and other ritual accessories. The temple premises are expected to resonate with chants of “Haribol” and devotional fervour as thousands of devotees witness the event.
The following day, on the auspicious occasion of Jyeshtha Shukla Ekadashi, popularly known as Rukmini Ekadashi, the ceremonial wedding of Lord Jagannath and Goddess Rukmini will be celebrated with full Vedic and scriptural rites.
To ensure the smooth, timely, and peaceful conduct of the rituals, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and Puri Police have made elaborate security and crowd-management arrangements.
