Thousands of people pulled the ropes attached with chariots of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities as the Rath Yatra festival began in Puri on Friday

Amid chanting of “Jai Jagannath” and “Hari Bol”, beating of cymbals and blowing of trumpets and conch shells, the `Taladwaja` chariot of Lord Balabhadra first started rolling at 4.08 PM. It was followed by Devi Subhadra`s `Darpadalan` chariot and finally Lord Jagannath`s `Nandighosh`

In Jaipur too, devotees took part in the annual Rath Yatra procession of the three deities

Mathura experienced festivities as people gathered for the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra. At the Krishna Janmasthan Temple, devotees pulled the chariot of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra

Many devotees gathered at the Jagannath temple at Hauz Khas in New Delhi to take part in the celebrations. The Delhi Police had also issued a traffic advisory in view of the Jagannath Rath Yatra event, diverting or regulating traffic movement in the area between 2 pm and 6 pm on Friday

Lucknow also witnessed celebrations as devotees participated in the annual Rath Yatra procession

The first-ever Rath Yatra from the newly-constructed Jagannath temple in Digha, West Bengal, was inaugurated on Friday and several devotees gathered to participate in the celebrations

In Ahmedabad, the Jagannath Rath Yatra procession witnessed the presence of thousands of devotees, who thronged to catch a glimpse of the deity, although this year`s annual event witnessed a brief disruption after an elephant ran amok. It took around 12 hours for the yatra to conclude as it traversed through different parts of the city