Sacred Wheels Of Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra To Be Installed In Parliament Building

Three sacred wheels from the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra will be installed in the new Parliament building in New Delhi, Hindustan Times reported.

The move, approved by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla after a proposal from the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), reportedly aims to symbolically connect the “temple of democracy” with Odisha’s centuries-old Jagannath culture.

The decision involves placing one wheel each from Nandighosha (Lord Jagannath’s chariot), Debadalana (Goddess Subhadra’s chariot), and Darpadalana (Lord Balabhadra’s chariot) inside the Parliament premises.

Confirming the development, SJTA chief administrator Aravind Padhee thanked the Speaker on social media platform X, saying it would strengthen the cultural bond between Odisha's Jagannath traditions and the country’s highest democratic institution.

“It is an important moment that underscores both cultural pride and national identity,” a senior official of the Odisha government was quoted as saying by HT.

The Rath wheels have earlier been installed at the Odisha Legislative Assembly premises and the State Guest House in Bhubaneswar.

Puri temple servitors welcomed the decision.

Senior servitor Binayak Das Mahapatra called it “a matter of pride,” while another servitor Anath Das Mahapatra stressed that the sanctity of the wheels must be preserved in Parliament as they are considered part of the Lord Himself.

The sacred status of the wheels comes from the belief that Lord Jagannath himself rides upon them during the nine-day Rath Yatra.

Devotees often keep small pieces of Rath wood at home for blessings.

Every year, three new chariots are built afresh — Nandighosha with 16 wheels, Taladhwaja with 14, and Debadalana with 12.

The 42 seven-foot-high wheels are crafted by Vishwakarma carpenters at the Rath Khala in Puri using 865 pieces of timber sourced from Odisha forests.

After the festival, the old chariots are dismantled.

Parts are either sold to devotees by the SJTA or used as firewood in the temple kitchen.

Temple rules require that acquired items be preserved with sanctity, worshipped with reverence, and never resold or misused.

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