Marking the Akshaya Tritiya festivity, carpenters on Monday started construction of wooden chariots for the Deities of Jagannath Temple in Puri for the ensuing nine-day Rath Yatra, starting July 6.
The construction work on chariots started following consecration of the logs in front of the temple office on Grand Road. Unlike previous years, the ceremonial puja was performed by a group of shrine servitors in the afternoon. “In the past, the puja was performed in the evening. This time we conducted the ceremony in the daytime in view of the ongoing renovation work of Jagamohan (the hall facing the sanctum sanctorum) inside the temple. Several rituals are being solemnized early due to the conservation work of Jagamohan,” said a temple officer.
The temple’s Public Relations Officer Laxmidhar Pujapanda said the bulk of timbers for the chariots have reached Puri. The timbers were supplied by the Forest Department. The height of Taladhwaja chariot (of Lord Balabhadra) will be 45 ft, Nandighos (of Jagannath) 45.6 ft and Devidalan (of goddess Subhadra) of 44.6 ft. Nearly seventy-five carpenters have been engaged for the making of the iconic chariots. Besides, nearly 70 assistants (bhois), 10 blacksmiths, 22 painters and some traditional tailors will help the craftspersons in construction of the chariots.
Every year, a staggering 13,000 cubic feet wood to the tune of nearly Rs 60 lakh is required for the three giant chariots. Not less than 1,000 trees of different species are felled every year for the purpose of making the chariots. Though there were proposals from several environmentalists in the past to reuse the chariots in subsequent years, it faced vehement protests from priests. Two years ago the temple administration took an innovative decision of selling some portions of the chariots every year to generate revenue for the Lord. Earlier the chariots were dismantled and used as firewood in the temple’s kitchen.
Coinciding with Akshaya Tritiya, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration started the 21-day Chandan Yatra of Lord Jagannath. To beat the heat, the representative deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra were brought out of the sanctum sanctorum to enjoy the cool voyage in Narendra pond, nearly 500 meters from the 12th Century shrine.
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