Jagannatha Rath Yatra

Introduction to the Jagannatha Rath Yatra

The Jagannatha Ratha Yatra is an annual festival that is celebrated in Puri, Odisha during India’s rainy season. While Puri remains the chief centre of the ‘car festival’, the annual ritual has travelled to all corners of the world where the Lord is worshipped in the form of Jagannatha.

On the Dwitiya (second day) of the Shukla Paksha (waxing moon cycle) of the month of Ashadha (June-July), the King or Lord of the World – Bhagwana Shri Jagannatha comes out of his temple abode to mingle with his devotees.  Jagannathaji, Balabhadraji and Subhadraji, mount rathas or chariots constructed with wood. The three ceremonial rathas – Taladhwaja  (green and red) carrying Balabhadra,  Devadalan (black and red) carrying Subhadraji and Nandighosha (yellow and red ) carrying Jagannathaji are then pulled by thousands of ecstatic devotees on a 2-km long journey to the Gundicha Temple.

The visual and culturally significant spectacle which gave the English language the word ‘juggernaut’ is a festival that transcends common barriers of class and creed and is in many ways symbolic of the atman’s (soul) journey of self-realisation.