Latest News | Thousands of Devotees Take Part in Shri Jagannath Rath Yatra in Himachal's Nahan

Nahan (HP), Jun 29 (PTI) More than 15,000 devotees participated in the Shri Jagannath Rath Yatra, taken out here with fervour on Sunday, organisers said.

This was the 17th such celebration in a row, said Prakash Bansal, president of Shri Jagannath Ji Rath Yatra Mandal, Nahan.

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Political leaders across party lines, including Himachal BJP chief Rajiv Bindal, were among the devotees who participated in the holy procession.

Bindal participated in the rituals performed in the ancient Sri Jagannath Ji temple situated at Bada Chowk and inaugurated the event by carrying the palanquin of Lord Jagannath on the shoulders from the temple to the Chaugan maidan.

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At the Chaugan maidan, BJP MP Suresh Kashyap, local Congress MLA Ajay Solanki and Sirmour Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Verma, among others, participated in 'aarti' before the formal initiation of the Rath Yatra.

The idols of Lord Shri Jagannath, Shri Balbhadra and Devi Subhadra were placed in a palanquin after vedic puja in Chaugan, and later they were put in a Rath.

Bansal told PTI that in 2009 some youths took out the first 'Rath Yatra' of Lord Jaggannath on the pattern of the famous Rath Yatra of Shri Jaggannath Puri, which has now become the biggest annual religious celebration of the town.

The yatra was welcomed by the people of all faiths and religions in the town, Bansal added.

Earlier, a week-long Shrimad Bhagwat Katha, yagna, and special puja of Lord Jagannath were performed in the nearly 400-year-old temple here, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)