Jagannatha Ratha Yatra

The Ratha Yatra is considered the oldest and largest Hindu chariot festival celebrated annually, on the bright half of the lunar month of Ashadh (June–July). During the festival, three deities (Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra) are drawn by a multitude of devotees in three massive, wooden chariots on bada danda (the grand avenue) to Gundicha Temple whereby they reside there for a week and then return to the Jagnannath temple. This return trip is referred to as the Bahuda Yatra.

The "Bada Danda" or the Grand Avenue On the way, the chariot of Jagannatha, Nandighosa waits near the crematorium of Bhakta Salabega , a Muslim devotee, 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 deity's favourite. After a stay of seven days, the deities return to their abode.

History

Descriptions of the Ratha Yatra can be found in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, the Skanda Purana, and the Kapila Samhita. Records of the festival have been noted by European travelers since the 13th century, with the most prominent and vivid descriptions noted in the 17th century.

Jagannath Rath Yatra will be taken out in Udaipur on the lines of Puri

A silver chariot will be used in the Jagannath Rath Yatra starting from Jaipur's Jagdish Temple. 90 kg of silver has been offered in it.

Udaipur has a 400-year-old Jagannath temple where thousands of tourists along with local people reach. Rajasthan's biggest Jagannath Rath Yatra starts every year from this Jagannath temple on the lines of Puri Jagannath. Rath Yatra will be taken out in a silver chariot.

Talking about the Rath Yatra, every year thousands of people participate in this Rath Yatra, which includes local as well as tourists. The Rath Yatra starts from the Jagannath temple in which the seated Thakurji is taken around the city.

The silver chariot in which Thakurji will be taken for the city tour weighs 30 tons, 90 kg of silver has been offered in it. It is 8 feet wide, 16 feet long and 21 feet high.

After the evening aarti, the chariot will be brought down from the Jagdish Temple and kept at Jagdish Chowk.

After this, a huge bhajan evening will be organized at Jagdish Chowk. After this, the Rath Yatra will start. Let us tell you that for the Rath Yatra, the inner areas of the city as well as other roads are decorated.

The Chariots

The three chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra 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. 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.

Around each of the chariots are nine Parsva devatas, painted wooden images representing different deities on the chariots' sides. Each chariot has a charioteer (Sarathi) and four horses.

आषाढ़ सुदी न रथयात्रा' हो व । ई दिन जगदीशजी की पूजा क र । भोग लगा व । धूप-दीप क र । ई दिन बसना की पूजा करता हो व तो पूजा कर ले व ।