Jagannath Rath Yatra is one of the most-awaited festivals in the state of Orissa as well as many other parts in India, and is celebrated on the 2nd day of the Shukla Paksha, Ashadha month according to the traditional Hindu calendar( this falls in the month of June or July as per Gregorian Calendar). It is also called Gundicha Yatra, or Navadina Yatra.
The festival is dedicated to Lord Krishna, his sister Subhadra and his elder brother Lord Balabhadra.
Rath Yatra is organized in a very grand scale with the ritualistic traditions in Puri. It is also held in many other parts of India and the rest of the world. This Yatra is conducted each year from Jagannath temple to Gundicha temple, which is considered to be Lord Jagannath’s aunt’s house.
The three deities, are placed in decorated Raths, accompanied by chants and blowing of conches. Before the Yatra commences, the event called Ansara is celebrated. On Snana Poornima The idols are bathed with 109 buckets of water, and then placed in isolation till the day of procession.. On the day of the procession, the holy ritual of Chhera Pahara is performed. The king himself sweeps the ground on which the chariot will move. The chariot is also cleaned by him with a broom that has a gold handle. He then decorates the chariot with flowers with his own hands. The deities are brought from the temple by the King and are placed on the chariot. Through this ritual, it is shown to the world that everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord.
Lord Jagannath’s chariot is called as Chakradhwaja, which is. 45 feet tall, has 16 wheels, and weighs 65 tons. Garuda on its top and four white wooden horses are the features of Lord Jagannath’s Rath.
Lord Balaram’s chariot is called Taladhwaja. It has 14 wheels, and is drawn by four black wooden horses. It carries Hanuman on its top.
Goddess Subhadra’s cart is called Padmadhwaja. It has a lotus on its crest, has 12 wheels, and is drawn by four red wooden horses.
The procession starts, with the chariots pulled in the order of Lord Balaram first, followed of Goddess Subhadra and at last that of Lord Jagannath. The chariots are pulled by devotees using long ropes. It is believed that pulling this rope is like doing remedy for your bad deeds and adding to your good Karma.
Entry to Jagannath temple is restricted to Hindus only. But on the day of the Rath Yatra, people of all faiths can have a darshan of the lord. The 3 deities remain at the Gundicha Temple, their aunt’s place for a span of 9 days.
On reaching the Jagannath Temple in the evening, they wait outside. On the next day, the idols are adorned with new clothes as babies and are placed back into the sanctum sanctorum, marking an end to the Rath Yatra.
Jagannath Rath Yatra is one of the oldest and also the grandest festival, which finds its mention in Puranas of Hinduism.
The Britishers coined the word “ Juggernaut” which is a crude distortion of the Sanskrit word Jagannath, for defining (i) a large and powerful force (ii) very heavy vehicle ; after witnessing the people’s faith behind the Rath yatra.
