BY PRASANTA KU. DASH

Puri, July 28: The pious Grand Road (Bada Danda) in Puri City witnesses no massive crowd today while the Saradhabali, the outer-circles of the Shree Gundicha Temple is almost lying open, with no hustle & bustle of either visitors, long-standing rows of devotees or even with the dominant presence of crowd of servitors.

Similarly, no spectacular gathering either on the golden beaches of the sacred ‘Mohoudadhi’ in the wee hours of Tuesday, after the sea of devotees flocked in the shrine city for the 9-day long annual festivity of the Lord Jagannath e.g the Rath Yatra, spectacularly receded for their home land, following the ‘Niladri Bije’ rituals.

The Niladri Bije festival marked the secured homecoming of the Lord, his siblings with the divine weapon ‘Chakraraj Sudarshan’ to the Shrimandir abode concluded late at night on Monday. The final episode of the majestic festivity of the Lord witnessed over 10 lakh devotees who thronged the ‘Badadanda’ with a thirst for ultimate darshan of the deities, especially in their transitions from the chariots to the sanctum of the Shrimandir. Once the significant moments are missed and the ecstatic scenes are passed away, one has to wait and dye for a mere gaze afresh, if possible in the next year, only during the Rath Yatra.

With the pivotal festivity of ‘Niladri Bije’ was performed from the very morning following the Sakala Dhup on the respective chariots of the deities, the Puri shrine experienced an unprecedented influx of visitors & devotees in the day. It’s why, the Badadanda with its adjoining roads, nearby railway stations, temporary rest sheds and the visitors’ outstations, all were found afloat with sea of crowds. Similarly, the sea-line itself recorded tens of thousands of footfalls beginning from Chandrabhaga-golden beach & from the Swargadwara beach to Baliharachandi shrine, those eagerly awaited for a favourable time for a holy darshan of the deities amid the Niladri Bije transit.

In view of the Niladri Bije and the probable high influx of visitors to the shrine overnight over 70 platoons of police forces were put in place, for meticulous crowd management and coordinated traffic regulations. The elaborate vigil and intelligence systems were all in place, to ensure safe home coming of the deities to the temple in time.

The sacred town finally breathed a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday, as the deities were carried to the temple on grand ceremonial processions and placed atop the Ratna Singhasan, the sacred altar meant for their sitting.

After days of intense devotion, that began from the sacred Akshaya Trutia the Rath Yatra 2026, ended today. The world’s one of the biggest spiritual event almost concluded for the year with no major unpleasant incidents relating the performance of age-old rituals.

With meticulous planning, unprecedented security arrangements, coordination of Temple Administration with the government’s machineries and moral supports of the Nijogs and servitors, the Rath Yatra 2026 registered a new record in managing the complex world-class event relentlessly.

As the ceremonial "Niladri Bije" ushered the deities back into their eternal abode, the spiritual capital of Odisha witnessed an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. The chants of "Jai Jagannath" echoed across the Grand Road, but this time they carried a note of gratitude—for the safe completion of yet another divine journey.

The annual Rath Yatra, considered as a festivity of faith beyond boundaries, its success transformed the Puri shrine into a global centre of devotion attracting almost 28 lakh of pilgrims from every corner of India and abroad to witness the rare occasion. As Lord Jagannath leaves his temple to bless devotees irrespective of caste, creed or nationality only during the 9-day-long Rath Yatra, tens of thousands of overseas visitors yearn to reach the shrine heritage.

The sight of the colossal wooden chariots—Nandighosa of Lord Jagannath, Taladhwaja of Lord Balabhadra and Darpadalana of Devi Subhadra—rolling along the Bada Danda on Shree Gundicha & Bahuda Yatra remain the most spectacular expressions of collective faith. Thousands of hands pulling the sacred ropes symbolize equality before the Lord, reinforcing the centuries-old belief that Jagannath belongs to everyone, not confined to Odisha or Odias.

The Puri Rath Yatra 2026 upheld this timeless tradition in pulling uncountable devotees to the Bada Danda,those passionately wait for the car festival.

With lakhs of devotees arriving on every significant day—from Rath Yatra to Bahuda Yatra, Suna Besha and Niladri Bije—the Odisha government mounted one of the largest peacetime administrative operations in the state to manage the festival with care so that nothing harms the devotees with performing the rituals perfectly. From the ceremonial "Pahandi Bije," where the deities are carried majestically to their chariots, to the "Chhera Pahanra" ritual performed by the Gajapati Maharaja, every tradition,to-be-performed during the sojourn unfolded according to established customs.

Police personnel, central security forces, disaster response teams, fire services, municipal workers, health professionals and thousands of volunteers who worked round the clock, are also set to pack up and commute to their places as there is no sea of crowd now to serve them with medical aid, to fetch water and other essential commodities.

Similarly, the security and intelligence wings are reading to dismount their extensive surveillance logistics, including CCTV, drones, monitoring systems affixed in the integrated control rooms and at vulnerable points.

As of now, traffic regulation, emergency medical services, drinking water facilities, sanitation, accommodation and public information systems is now closely functioned in close coordination to minimize inconvenience to pilgrims, those who ready their bag & baggage to their homes.

Hotels, guest houses, transport operators, restaurants, handicraft sellers, sweet shops and small vendors that witnessed brisk business during the festival, now rest and relax today due to meager number of visitors in the town. Beginning from the Deva Snana Purnima or Snana Jatra of the deities,local businesses benefited immensely from the steady flow of pilgrims, reinforcing the festival's importance to Odisha's tourism and cultural economy. However, they have now resolved to cut their services short in accordance with the customers’ footfalls.

For devotees, however, the festival's conclusion is deeply emotional. As the temple doors gradually closed and the bustling Grand Road returns to normalcy, pilgrims leave with cherished memories, believing they have received the Lord's blessings that will at least remain alive till another year.

From temple servitors safeguarding sacred traditions to security personnel maintaining order; from sanitation workers keeping the city clean to healthcare professionals saving lives; from volunteers extending selfless service to ordinary devotees displaying patience and discipline—every services are going to be wrapped up, possibly after a few hours.

As the spiritual city slowly regains its usual rhythm, preparations for treasuring the wooden parts of the holy Chariots are set to begin soon by the Rath Sevaks, with completions of some associated rituals. On the other hand, the Puri Municipal Corporation authorities have geared up to take essential measures for cleaning up the city, as the number of visitors significantly falls.

Shri Jagannath Dham Puri, after witnessing yet another magnificent chapter in its spiritual history, this year heaves a well-deserved sigh of relief as the cherished annual sojourn of the Trinities meticulously concluded today binding faiths & devotion altogether holding them on the sacred Bada Danda, the Grand Road embellished with intrinsic spiritualism.