Puri (Odisha) [India], July 17 (ANI): As the Jagannath Rath Yatra entered its second day on Thursday, foreign devotees shared their spiritual experiences of witnessing Lord Jagannath in Puri, describing the festival as a unique occasion when people from across the world receive the deity's blessings irrespective of their background.

A devotee from England said the festival offered an experience unlike anything he had witnessed before and highlighted the opportunity it gives foreign devotees to have Lord Jagannath's darshan.

'It's very ecstatic, very wild. I come from England originally, and you never see anything like this in England. It's another world--just incredible. People have so much devotion for Lord Jagannath; it's amazing to see. This is why we came because we can never see the Jagannath Temple. Even though we are Hindus and we are practising everything properly, we are not allowed to go inside. Lord Jagannath is very merciful, so He is giving darshan to everyone,' he told ANI.

A devotee from Russia described the experience as a cherished opportunity.

'I am from Russia. I feel very fortunate. This is like a lifetime opportunity. Rath Yatra is held every year, and we can come and take the darshan of Lord Jagannath,' the devotee said.

Echoing similar sentiments, a devotee from Bolivia in South America said the Rath Yatra enables devotees from outside India to seek the Lord's blessings.

'We feel very happy because we are not allowed to take darshan of Lord Jagannath during the year. Lord Jagannath is Patitapabana. He comes out to give darshan to everyone. We can stay as long as we want,' the devotee said.

An Indian devotee said his entire family had travelled from Bhubaneswar to Puri to witness the Rath Yatra.

'Everyone gets the opportunity to have darshan. This time, we had a wonderful darshan. We left Bhubaneswar at 4 am and after reaching here, we had a very good darshan. We came with our entire family and felt immense happiness,' the devotee told ANI.

Explaining the significance of the annual festival, another devotee said Lord Jagannath is unique because he comes out of the temple to bless devotees.

'Lord Jagannath is the only deity in the world who comes out once every year to meet His devotees. This is His divine leela. During Kaliyuga, He manifests Himself in different forms and blesses the people of Odisha and devotees from across the world, praying for their welfare, prosperity and happiness,' the priest said.

The 2026 Rath Yatra in Puri concluded smoothly despite continuous rain and adverse weather conditions. According to the Odisha CMO release, around 8 to 9 lakh devotees from Odisha, across the country and abroad participated in the world-famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Chakra Raj Sudarshan.

All rituals associated with the festival, including the pulling of the chariots, were completed as per schedule. Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Gobardhan Peeth also visited the chariots and offered prayers to the deities.

The state government said elaborate arrangements had been made in advance involving the Police, Health, Fire Services, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Transport, Municipal Administration, Public Health, Energy and other departments.

The release added that round-the-clock monitoring, deployment of security personnel, CCTV surveillance, public announcement systems, traffic management, sanitation, drinking water facilities and emergency medical services were put in place for devotees. (ANI)