A grand, colorful Palkhi Yatra (devotional procession), honoring the deities consecrated in the BAPS Hindu Mandir was held on the mandir grounds.
During the Palkhi Yatra, the murtis were first ceremoniously placed on decorated palanquins. Then, senior swamis performed pujan of all the murtis, which were then lifted by the devotees of the various communities and carried around the circumambulatory path (parikrama) of the mandir, to bestow blessings to the community.
Over 1,100 people, representing various local communities in the UAE participated. Diasporic communities in the UAE representing Kerala, Rajasthan, Orissa, Maharashtra, and others from north, south, east, west and central India participated in the procession wearing their traditional Indian attire and performing traditional devotional music and singing.
Each carried a palanquin with the sacred murtis of the deities widely worshiped in their respective regions of India. It was the first time that such a pan-Indian procession had taken place in the UAE.
After the Palkhi Yatra, all the participants attended the celebratory assembly in the presence of Pujya Doctor Swami, Pujya Avichaldasji Maharaj, Head of the Sat Kaival Sampradaya, and other senior BAPS swamis.