Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari swept the path of the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra with a broom. The Rath Yatra was organized by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Mumbai on Sunday.
The Governor cleaned the path in front of the chariot carrying the idols of the three deities after he took darshan of Lord Jagannath, along with Lord Baladeva and Goddess Subhadra.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor paid tributes to the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Shrila Prabhupada. He said Shrila Prabhupada showed the people the simple path of devotion in today's age when people have no time to understand Vedas and Upanishads.
The Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra started from the Bhaktivedanta Swami Mission School in Andheri and headed for ISKCON Mandir, Juhu. Thousands of devotees were present.
The Governor said even though the evil caste system is still prevalent in the country, there are no distinctions of caste and creed in front of Lord Jagannath.
Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj, Dr Surdas, Devkinandan Prabhu, Chairman of the Rathyatra Committee L M Khurana, Mukund Madhav Prabhu, vocalist Anuradha Paudwal and devotees were present.
The Rath Yatra festival is celebrated across the world.
The day is associated with Lord Jagannath and is observed at Shri Kshetra Puri Dham in Odisha, India. The day has its history depicted from the descriptions in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and Kapila Samhita.
It falls on Shukla Paksha Dwtitiya tithi in the month of Aashadha. This year it falls on July 1, 2022.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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