Jagannath Rath Yatra रथ यात्रा

At Puri in Odisha the deity Jagannath, together with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, leaves the sanctum once a year and travels in procession on enormous wooden chariots. The three chariots are rebuilt each year from specified timber and are named Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Darpadalana. The journey goes to the Gundicha temple, about three kilometres away, and the deities return nine days later in the Bahuda Yatra. Odia tradition regards the Yatra as the one day when those who cannot enter the temple, as well as the common person, can see the lord in the open street.

Jagannath is worshipped in Puri as a form of Vishnu or Krishna, with eyes large and round and limbs unusually short, and the carved wooden images are renewed on a long cycle in a ceremony called Nabakalebara. Before the Yatra, the Snana Yatra bath on the full moon of Jyeshtha is said to leave the deities unwell, and they rest out of sight for a fortnight. Before the chariots leave, the Gajapati king of Puri sweeps the chariot platform with a golden broom in the Chhera Pahanra ritual, symbolising that the lord is above all rank.

The word juggernaut in English derives from the name Jagannath. Similar processions are held in Ahmedabad, in Bengal at Mahesh and in many places abroad, including those organised by ISKCON in several world cities. Pulling the ropes is considered an act of devotion, and the crowd at Puri is vast, so visitors should plan carefully and follow the instructions of the temple authorities and local police.