Rath Yatra 2022: Gajapati Maharaja conducts Chera Pahara in chariots
Rath Yatra 2022: Gajapati Maharaja conducts Chera Pahara in chariots
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Puri: Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, Lord Jagannath's Adya Sevak (Foremost Servant), is currently performing the magnificent Chherapahmar rite on Raths.
The Puri king first boarded Lord Balabhadra's Taladhwaja Rath after arriving on a unique palanquin called Tamjan and swept the wooden floor surrounding the lord's seat. The king swept the floor with a broom that had a gold handle as servants sprinkled holy scented water and flowers.
The king would do the duties of a sweeper after Taladhwaja by going to Devi Subhadra's Darpadalan and then Lord Jagannath's Nandighosh Rath.
According to legend, the king wipes the Rath floors to symbolise equality before the Lord. A king is merely a simple devotee and a servant of the Lord. All things are equal, but the Lord is the Supreme.
Following the battle of Kanchi Abhiyan, King Purushottam Dev took Prince Padmavati to Puri. But he gave his minister the authority to wed Padmavati to a sweeper. Purushottam gave the order to exact revenge for her father calling him a sweeper (Purushottam). However, the cunning minister managed to marry Padmavati to Purushottam by arguing that the monarch, who had just finished sweeping the Rath floors, was the best sweeper she could find.
