Lakhs of devotees gathered in Puri on Friday to pull the sacred chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra [1].
The Bahuda Yatra represents the traditional conclusion of the annual Rath Yatra. It symbolizes the deities' return to their main shrine after a spiritual pilgrimage to the Gundicha Temple [2].
The procession moved along the Grand Road, transporting the three deities from the Gundicha Temple back to the Shri Jagannath Temple [3]. This return journey marks the end of a nine-day stay [2] at the Gundicha Temple, where the deities reside before returning to the Srimandir.
Crowd estimates for the event vary between reports. Some sources said that thousands of devotees gathered in the pilgrim town [2], while other reports said that lakhs of worshippers thronged the area [1].
Participating devotees pull the massive chariots by hand, a practice central to the religious observance. This act is viewed as a way to earn spiritual merit and participate in the divine journey of the deities [2].
The event concludes the cycle of the Rath Yatra, one of the most significant festivals in Odisha. The return to the main temple restores the deities to their primary place of worship, ending the public procession phase of the festival [4].
“Lakhs of devotees gathered in Puri on Friday to pull the sacred chariots”
The Bahuda Yatra is more than a return procession; it is the structural closing of a multi-day liturgical cycle. By moving the deities from the Gundicha Temple back to the Shri Jagannath Temple, the event restores the spiritual order of the Srimandir and signals the end of the deities' temporary accessibility to the public on the streets of Puri.
