Rath Yatra
Ratha Yatra is a Hindu
festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Odisha,
India. 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 (aunt's home)
near Balagandi Chaka, Puri.
As part of Ratha Yatra,
the deities of Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister
Subhadra are taken out in a procession to Gundicha Temple and remain there for
nine days.They are also accompanied by Sudarshana chakra. Then the deities or
Ratha Yatra return to the Main temple. The return journey of Puri Jagannath
Ratha Jatra is known as Bahuda Jatra.
Three richly decorated
chariots, resembling temple structures, are pulled through the streets of Puri
called Badadanda. This commemorates the annual journey of Lord Jagannath, Lord
Balabhadra, and their sister Subhadra to their aunt's temple, the Gundicha
Temple which is situated at a distance of 2 km from their temple. This is the
only day when devotees who are not allowed in the temple premises, such as
non-Hindus and foreigners, can get their glimpse of the deities. During the
festival, devotees from all over the world go to Puri with an earnest desire to
help pulling the Lords' chariots with the help of other priests pulling the
chariots with ropes. They consider this auspicious deed. The huge processions
accompanying the chariots play devotional songs with drums, tambourines,
trumpets etc. Children line the streets through which the chariot will pass and
add to the mass chorus. The Ratha carts themselves are approximately 45 feet
(14 m) high and are pulled by the thousands of pilgrims who turn up for the
event; the chariots are built anew each year only from a particular type of
tree. Millions of devotees congregate at Puri for this annual event from all
over the country and abroad. It is also broadcast live on many Indian, foreign
television channels as well as many of the websites telecast jagannath ratha
jatra live.
Description
Ratha Jatra, the Festival
of Chariot: 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 (3rd month in Lunar Calendar). The presiding
deities of the Jagannath Temple, Puri's main temple, Lord Jagannath, Lord
Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel (Sudarshana Chakra/ସୁଦର୍ଶନ ଚକ୍ର ) 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 (Gundicha – King Indradyumna's Queen), two miles away to the
North. On the way the chariot of Lord Jagannatha, Nandighosa (ନନ୍ଦିଘୋଷ) waits near the crematorium of Bhakta Salabega (ଭକ୍ତ ସାଲବେଗ) a Muslim devout to pay him tribute.
The Chariots
The three chariots of
Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha are newly constructed every year with wood
of specified trees like phassi, dhausa, etc. They are customarily brought from
the ex-princely state of Dasapalla 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. Covered with bright canopies made of
stripes of red cloth and combined with those of black, yellow and green
colours, the huge chariots are lined across the wide avenue in front of the
majestic temple close to its eastern entrance, which is also known as the
Sinhadwara or the Lion's Gate. Lord Jagannatha's chariot
is called Nandighosa. It is forty-five feet high and forty-five feet square at
the wheel level. It has sixteen wheels, each of seven-foot diameter, and is
decked with a cover made of red and yellow cloth. Lord Jagannatha is identified
with Krushna, who is also known as Pitambara, the one attired in golden yellow
robes and hence the distinguishing yellow stripes on the canopy of this
chariot.
Nandighosa Rath
The chariot of Lord
Balarama, called the Taladhwaja, is the one with the Palm Tree on its flag. It
has fourteen wheels, each of seven-foot diameter and is covered with red and
green cloth. Its height is forty-four feet.
Taladhwaja Rath
The chariot of Subhadra,
known as Dwarpadalana, literally "trampler of pride," is forty-three
feet high with twelve wheels, each of seven-foot diameter. This chariot is
decked with a covering of red and black cloth – black being traditionally
associated with Shakti and the Mother Goddess.
Dwarpadalana or Padmadhwaja Rath
Around each of the
chariots are nine Parsva devatas, painted wooden images representing different
deities on the chariots' sides. Each of the chariots is attached to four
horses. These are of different colours – dark ones for Balarama, white ones for
Jagannatha, and red ones for Subhadra. Each chariot has a charioteer called
Sarathi. The three charioteers attached to the chariots of Jagannatha, Balarama
and Subhadra respectively are Daruka, Matali and Arjuna.
Descriptions of the Chariots
Nandighosha (ନନ୍ଦିଘୋଷ)
Taladhwaja (ତାଳଧ୍ୱଜ)
Chandana Jatra(ଚନ୍ଦନ ଯାତ୍ରା)
Suna Besha(ସୁନା ବେଶ)
International Ratha YatraThe Ratha Yatra festival
has become a common sight in most major cities of the world since 1968 through
the ISKCON Hare Krishna movement. By the mercy of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath and
Chaitanya, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada had successfully transplanted
the festival which now happens on an annual basis in places all over the world in
over 108 cities including; Moscow, New York, Houston, Atlanta, London, Rome,
Zürich, Kolkata, Mumbai, Karachi, Berlin, Heidelberg, Cologne, Florence,
Wroclaw, Sydney, Perth, Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Mexico City, Dublin,
Belfast, Manchester, Birmingham, Alchevsk, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Stockholm,
Bath, Budapest, Auckland, Melbourne, Montreal, Paris, Copenhagen, Amsterdam,
Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, Santiago, Tallinn, Lima, Antwerp, Sofia, Kuala
Lumpur, Oslo, Zhongshan, Myitkyina, Bangkok and many other cities.[5] The Ratha
Yatra in Dhamrai, Bangladesh, is one of the most important in Bangladesh.
Service offerings
Jagannath temple employs
different kinds of sevakas who offer their services on the Ratha. SuaraMahasuaraDahuka: Ratha dahuka boli
(Odia: ଡାହୁକ ବୋଲି, also "Dahuka gita" (ଡାହୁକ ଗୀତ)) which are poetic recitations. Ratha Yatra being a
symbolic expression of fertility and Life cycle, these "boli" sung by
the Dahuka contain bawdy songs. It is believed that unless the Dahuka boli is
sung 'Ratha' does not move.[6] These songs are sung publicly without any kind
of hold on the lyrics.[7] Dahuka controls the movement of Ratha during the
festival.[8][9]
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