Rath Yatra begins in Odisha's Puri amid Covid-19:All you need to know
Ratha Yatra (also called as Car Festival or Chariot Festival) is a Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Odisha.
This annual festival is celebrated on Ashadha Shukla Paksha Dwitiya (second day in bright fortnight of Ashadha month).
As part of Ratha Yatra, the deities Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and younger sister Devi Subhadra, along with Sudarshan, are taken out in a procession out of the main shrine of Jagannath Temple and placed in the Ratha (Chariot) which are ready in front of the Temple. This process is called as ‘Pahandi’. The procession starts with ‘Madan Mohan’ then ‘Sudarshana’ Balabhadra, Subhadra, and Jagannath Deva.
After that, Gajapati Maharaja, the king of Puri, who is also known as the first servitor of the Lords, does Chhera Pahanra (the holy cleaning of the chariots). Finally, the devotees pull the chariots to the Gundicha Temple, which is also known as the birthplace of the Lords.
The two temples are located at the two ends of the Bada Danda (Grand Avenue) which is the pathway for the Rath Yatra.
There are 6 events which are considered as the key activities of this annual spectacular event.
1. ‘Snana Yatra’ (June 5th this year) is the one where the Deities take bath and then fell ill for almost 2 weeks. They are treated with ayurvedic medicines and a set of traditional practices.
2. On ‘Sri Gundicha’( today June 23rd ) the Deities are taken in the onward car festival from the main shrine to the Gundicha Temple.
3. On the Bahuda Yatra(July 1st this year), the return car festival, the Lords are brought back to the main Temple.
4. Suna Besha (Golden Attire, July 2nd this year) is the event when the Deities wear golden ornaments and give darshan from the chariots, to the devotees.
5. ‘Adhara Pana’ is an important event during Ratha Yatra. On this day sweet drink is offered to the invisible spirits and souls, who would have visited the celestial event of the Lords, as believed by the Hindu tradition.
6. And finally the Deities are taken back inside the main shrine i.e. the Jagannath Temple and installed on the Ratna Simhasan, on the last day of the Ratha Yatra activity which is called as ‘Niladri Bije.
Jay Jagannath 🙏🙏🙏💐.
May God bless all of us.
