Thousands pull Lord Jagannath's chariot in Patna

Thousands of devotees participated in the annual Rath Yatra festival in Patna on July 3, 2011. Earlier devotees gathered at the ISKCON temple in Budha Marg to celebrate the Rathyatra festival and witness Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra set off on their annual sojourn to their aunt's abode on a 40 feet-high chariot. They also pulled chariot carrying the presiding deities. Bihar Irrigation Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Bihar Food and Consumer Protection Minister Shyam Rajak and other eminent citizens of the Bihar Capital pulled the chariot.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui