Puri: Thousands of devotees thronged the Gundicha Temple in Odisha’s Puri on Sunday as Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra gave darshan from the Janmabedi (Adapa Mandap) during the Rath Yatra festival.
From today, devotees visiting the Gundicha Temple will also be offered the sacred Adapa Abadha, the holy Mahaprasad prepared during the deities’ stay at the temple.
Long queues of devotees were seen outside the temple for the much-awaited Adapa Darshan. To ensure smooth movement of devotees, the administration has arranged three separate barricaded queues for darshan.
In view of the heavy rush, traffic restrictions have been imposed across the pilgrim town. Vehicular movement has been regulated from Badasankha Chhak, while entry of vehicles has been prohibited beyond Medical Chhak.
On the other hand, the Banakalagi ritual will be observed today. As a result, public darshan will remain suspended from 9 pm to 3 am.
The remaining schedule of the Rath Yatra festival includes Hera Panchami on July 20, Dakshina Moda (turning of the chariots southward) on July 21, Sandhya Darshan on July 23, Bahuda Yatra on July 24, Suna Besha on July 25, Adhara Pana and Garuda Sayana Niti on July 26, and Niladri Bije on July 27, when the sibling deities will ceremonially return to the Shree Jagannath Temple.
With lakhs of devotees expected to visit Puri during the remaining days of the festival, the district administration has made extensive arrangements to ensure the smooth conduct of rituals, crowd management and traffic regulation.