Gaya: A 35-foot hydraulic chariot carrying the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be the main attraction of the Jagannath Rath Yatra to be organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iscon), Gaya, on Thursday.Apart from Iscon, the Gaudiya Math in Gaya town and the ancient Jagannath Temple located north of the Unesco World Heritage-listed Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Bodh Gaya will also organise Rath Yatras.Jagannath Temple media in-charge Dharmendra Kumar said acharyas from Puri had arrived in Bodh Gaya to perform special rituals from Thursday morning till afternoon. “The idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be carried in three separate chariots,” he said.Iscon Gaya president Jagdish Shyam Das said thousands of devotees are expected to participate in the procession and preparations have been almost completed.“For the first time, Iscon ON Gaya will introduce a ‘baraat on wheels’, featuring a double-decker vehicle carrying elaborate tableaux depicting the deities,” he said.Das added that new traditional attire has been specially prepared for the deities, while the chariot has been decorated with flowers and other ornamental items. A large number of devotees visited the temple on Wednesday to offer prayers and seek blessings ahead of the annual Rath Yatra, he said.
