On the occasion of Sri Panchami evening, ‘Ratha Katha Anukula’, the initiation ceremony for the construction of a chariot for Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra was held.
Purohit, Rajguru, and Stotriya brahmins consecrated three 12-foot-long Dhaura logs kept at the ‘Ratha Khala’ on the occasion of Basant Panchami by sprinkling ‘pancha amrit’ between 6 and 7 p.m. after worshiping goddess Saraswati.
These logs will be sawed this Ram Navami (March 30) at the Cuttack saw mill for the construction of chariots for Lord Jagannath and his siblings’ annual Rath Yatra.
Similarly, construction of chariots will begin on the occasion of Akshay Trutiya (April 23).
It is worth noting that, according to tradition, the first phase of logs arrives at the Ratha Khala before Basanta Panchami, while all logs arrive at the Ratha Khala before Akshay Trithya Tithi. The three chariots require a total of 865 pieces of wood to construct.
Source:OCN