Akshaya Tritiya, Chandan Yatra Rituals to Be Observed Inside Puri Srimandir

Puri: In a significant development, the Chandan Yatra and Akshaya Tritiya rituals will be observed inside the Puri Srimandir, said Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb.

The decision was taken at an important meeting of Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Krishan Kumar and Puri Collector Balwant Singh here on Friday evening.

As per the decision, all the rituals of Chandan Yatra will be held only inside the temple premises. A meeting in this regard will be held with the sevayats tomorrow.

Following the advice of Shankaracharya, it has been decided that the chariot construction ritual for Rath Yatra on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya (April 26) will be organised inside Shree Jagannath Temple premises.

Dibyasingha Deb, however, said the final decision over organizing the Rath Yatra will be taken after the lockdown period considering the changing circumstances after lockdown gets over and new guidelines of the government set in.