Honoring  Odisha’s rich cultural heritage, three sacred wheels from Lord Jagannath’s annual Rath Yatra chariots will be permanently installed in the Parliament complex, the Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) announced.

The proposal came during Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s visit to Puri, where the temple committee presented the idea. The Speaker accepted it, officials said. The SJTA confirmed, “During Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s visit to Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, a proposal was given by the administration for installing three wheels of chariots of Rath Yatra in the Parliament premises. Birla has accepted the proposal."

SJTA chief Arabinda Padhee said on X, “Hon’ble Lok Sabha Speaker, accompanied by other dignitaries, visited Shree Jagannatha Temple today, seeking Mahaprabhu’s blessings. We are deeply grateful to the Hon’ble Speaker for graciously agreeing to our proposal to install one wheel each from the three sacred chariots of Ratha Jatra at a prominent location within the Parliament premises."

The wheels will be taken from the three main chariots: Lord Jagannath’s Nandighosh, Goddess Subhadra’s Darpadalan, and Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaj. Each wheel will be placed permanently in Parliament, symbolizing Odisha’s spiritual and cultural legacy.

The 45-feet-high chariots are built annually in about two months by more than 200 skilled craftsmen. After the festival, the chariots are dismantled. Some parts, including the wheels, are stored or auctioned. Chief carpenter Bijay Mohapatra said new wood is used each year, except for certain key components.

This will be the second cultural installation in the new Parliament building, following the Sengol, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed near the Speaker’s chair in May 2023. The Sengol, a ceremonial scepter, was originally handed to Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 by the British to mark India’s independence transfer and came to Parliament after 75 years, having been kept at Anand Bhavan and the Allahabad Museum.

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