Bhubaneswar, Jul 13 (IANS): The chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra reached Gundicha temple before the scheduled time on Monday.

All rituals, starting from Pahandi Bije of the three deities, to pulling of chariots, of the annual Rath Yatra were completed much before the scheduled time and in a very spiritual atmosphere.

In view of Covid-19 pandemic, the festival was conducted without any participation of devotees. Only 'Sevayats' (servitors) pulled all three holy chariots.

Adorned with 'tahias' (giant floral crowns), chants of "Jay Jagannath", the three deities along with Lord Sudarsan were brought out of the sanctum sanctorum in the Dhadi Pahandi procession to their chariots parked before Srimandir.

Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati accompanied by his disciples and servitors offered prayers to the deities on their respective chariots. Following this ritual, Gajapati Maharaja of Puri, Dibyasingh Deb arrived in his royal palanquin and carried out the Chhera Panhara ritual, the ceremonial sweeping of the chariots with a golden broom, amid chanting of hymns by the priests.

All three chariots reached Gundicha temple much before the scheduled time, said Puri collector Samarth Verma.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik watched the live telecast of the Ratha Yatra on TV at his office.

The chief minister thanked everyone including servitors, Puri district administration, temple administration, health department and police personnel for smooth conduct of the world famous festival. Patnaik also thanked the people of Puri for their cooperation.

The world-famous Rath Yatra was viewed by millions around the world. Tight security arrangements have been put in place for smooth completion of the Yatra. Excluding Puri, the Rath Yatra was not conducted at any place in the state due to Covid-19 restrictions.