Thousands of Hindu devotees take part with idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra in an annual chariot procession called Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in India.

The annual Jagannath Rath Yatra from Jagdish temple were performed peacefully in Udaipur amid heavy security, days after a Hindu tailor's brutal murder triggered communal tensions in the area.

The curfew, in place across Udaipur since the June 28 murder, was also relaxed along the 8km route of the yatra. Nearly 10,000 people attended the procession in the presence of about 2,000 police and paramilitary personnel.

The annual yatra is being organised after a gap of two years as it could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the procession coincided with Friday prayers, police security in the sensitive regions was bolstered.

According to mythology, Ratha Yatra dates back some 5,000 years when Hindu god Krishna along with his older brother Balram or Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, were pulled on a chariot from Kurukshetra to Vrindavan by Lord Krishna's devotees.

Rathyatra is a traditional chariot festival mostly celebrated in Odisha, but people from the Hindu community also celebrated this festival in many parts of India.

According to religious belief, Lord Jagannath Puri's birthday falls on the day of Snan Purnima or Jyeshtha Purnima (Full Moon Day), On this day Lord Jagannath along with elder brother Balarama and sister Subhadra are taken down from the Ratna throne and taken to the bathing pavilion near the temple.

After this, he takes a royal bath with 108 urns filled with holy water.

It is also believed that the Lord becomes ill and he gets a fever after the bath.

Then the Lord Jagannath is kept in a special room for 15 days.

In these 15 days, no one can see him except the chief servants and Vaidyas of the temple.

Devotees can see the Lord Jagannath only after 15 days.

World famous Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra Festival held in Hindu month of Jyeshtha every year.

Nine-day annual festival Rath Yatra or chariot festival conducted every year.