Ratha Yatra (Car Festival) is a
Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri. It is the oldest
Ratha Yatra taking place in India and the World, whose descriptions can be
found in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, and Skanda Purana and Kapila Samhita. This
annual festival is celebrated on Ashadha Shukla Paksha Dwitiya (second day in
bright fortnight of Ashadha month).
The festival commemorates
Jagannath's annual visit to Gundicha Temple via Mausi Maa Temple (maternal aunt's
home) near Saradha Bali, Puri.
Observation
Chariots of Shri Jagannath is
celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Odisha, on the second
(dwitiya) day of shukla pakhya (waxing cycle of moon) of Ashadha Maasa. The
presiding deities of the Jagannath Temple, Puri's main temple, Lord Jagannath,
Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel (Sudarshana
Chakra) are removed from the temple in a ceremonial procession to their
chariots. The huge, colourfully decorated chariots are drawn by multitude of
devotees on the Bada Danda, the grand
avenue to the Gundicha Temple. On the way the chariot of Lord Jagannatha,
Nandighosa waits near the crematorium of Bhakta Salabega a Muslim devout to pay
him tribute.
On their way back from the Gundicha
Temple, the three deities stop for a while near the Mausi Maa Temple (Aunt's
abode) and have an offering of the Poda Pitha, which is a special type of
pancake supposed to be the Lord's favourite. After a stay for seven days, the
deities return to their abode.
The Chariots
The three chariots of Jagannath,
Balabhadra and Subhdra are newly constructed every year with wood of specified
trees. They are customarily brought by a specialist team of carpenters who have
hereditary rights and privileges for the same. The logs are traditionally set
afloat as rafts in the river Mahanadi. These are collected near Puri and then
transported by road.
The three chariots are decorated
as per the unique scheme prescribed and followed for centuries stand on the Bada Danda, the Grand Avenue. The
chariots are lined across the wide avenue in front of the temple close to its
eastern entrance, which is also known as the Sinhadwara or the Lion's Gate.
Celebration
After the chariots of the deities return to the main temple from the Gundicha temple, the deities are attired in gold ornaments and worshipped on the chariots. This celebration is known as Suna Besha.