Overview
- The chariot procession that began on July 16 culminated when servitors performed the Pahandi and carried the three deities into the Adapa Mandap of Gundicha Temple, where they will remain until the planned return (Niladri Bije) around July 24.
- The Odisha chief minister’s office estimated about 8 to 9 lakh devotees attended the yatra, prompting sector-based crowd management, barricading, CCTV surveillance and deployments of police, NDRF and ODRAF to manage flows and safety.
- Temple liturgy followed established practice: tahia floral headgear, wooden charamalas (coconut-trunk ramps) and Goti Pahandi transfers were used, while the SJTA scheduled a special Ratna Bhandar inventory to digitally record valuables removed during Snan Yatra.
- Parallel and adaptive observances spread across India and the diaspora, including ISKCON children’s and city yatras, large processions in Hyderabad, Gurugram and Mumbai suburbs, and a community Rath Yatra at a new temple in Kearns, Utah.
- Longstanding cultural systems that sustain the festival — the Rosha Ghara kitchen, hereditary Suaras cooks and Mahaprasad distribution — continued to anchor the rites, and local innovations such as trained tribal priests in Mathili and added chariot safety features point to evolving management and inclusion practices.