Ratha Yatra (Puri)

Descriptions of the Ratha Yatra can be found in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, the Skanda Purana, and the Kapila Samhita.{{Cite web |last=Purana |first=Padma Purana |date=July 2005 |title=Vedic Background of Jagannath Cult |url=http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/jul2005/engpdf/eng_july_05_pdf.pdf#page=22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923165152/http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Orissareview/jul2005/engpdf/eng_july_05_pdf.pdf#page=22 |archive-date=23 September 2021 |access-date=15 June 2023}} 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.{{Cite journal |last=Kulke |first=Hermann |date=1980 |title=Rathas and Rajas: The Car Festival at Puri |url=https://fid4sa-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/3968/1/Rathas%20and%20Rajas.pdf |journal=The Journal of Orissan History |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=28–39 |access-date=21 July 2023 |archive-date=21 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721141040/https://fid4sa-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/3968/1/Rathas%20and%20Rajas.pdf |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite news|author=Staff Reporter|date=2021-07-11|title=Puri decked up for Rath Yatra without devotees for second successive year|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/puri-decked-up-for-rath-yatra-without-devotees-for-second-successive-year/article35262923.ece|access-date=2021-07-13|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713181928/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/puri-decked-up-for-rath-yatra-without-devotees-for-second-successive-year/article35262923.ece|url-status=live}}

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.

The Chandan yatra or "Sandalwood Festival" is a 42 day period that marks the beginning of construction work for the chariots. The period is divided in half, consisting of 21 days each. The first half is known as Bahar chandan, whereby the representative images of the presiding deities are taken out in colorful processions and given a ceremonial boat ride in the Narendra tank every day. These deities include Madan Mohan (Jagannath), Rama-Krishna, Lakshmi, Saraswati and the Pancha Pandava - the presiding deities of the five main Shiva temples. The latter, known as Bhitar chandan, consists of various rituals not open to the public.{{Cite book |last=Melton |first=J. Gordon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lD_2J7W_2hQC&dq=ratha+yatra+encyclopedia&pg=PA171 |title=Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations |date=2011-09-13 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-206-7 |pages=171 |language=en |access-date=11 July 2023 |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103173809/https://books.google.com/books?id=lD_2J7W_2hQC&dq=ratha+yatra+encyclopedia&pg=PA171 |url-status=live }} The construction of the chariots starts on Akshaya Tritiya, the third day of the bright fortnight of Vaisakha, with ritual fire worship. This takes place in front of the palace of the King of Puri and opposite the main office of the Puri temple. Later the deities have a ritual bath in a small temple in the middle of the tank, in stone tubs filled with water, sandalwood paste, scents, and flowers.

This sandalwood festival culminates in the Snana Yatra or "Bathing Festival" which takes place on the full moon day of the month of Jyeshtha. The deities, Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra are bathed with 108 pots of water and then remain in symbolic and ritual convalescence for about two weeks. They are barred from the view of the public.{{Cite book |last=Verma |first=Manish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4gzFFLdBoYC&dq=snan+yatra&pg=PA31 |title=Fasts and Festivals of India |date=2013 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. |isbn=978-81-7182-076-4 |pages=31 |language=en |access-date=11 July 2023 |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103173808/https://books.google.com/books?id=z4gzFFLdBoYC&dq=snan+yatra&pg=PA31#v=onepage&q=snan%20yatra&f=false |url-status=live }} Only three special patta chitras, traditional Oriya paintings of natural colors on cloth stiffened with starch, known as Anasara Pattis, are strung on a bamboo screen hiding the deities from public view, can be seen by the public. During this period, the deities are given only roots, leaves, berries and fruits to cure them of their indisposition. This ritual is a reminder of the strong tribal elements in the genesis and evolution of the Jagannatha cult. The progeny of Lalita, daughter of the original tribal worshipper Biswabasu, chieftain of hunters, and the Brahmin priest Vidyapati, are known as daitapatis or daitas. They have the almost exclusive privilege of serving the deityduring the convalescence and through the entire period of Ratha Jatra or the Festival of Chariots.

File:Golden Attire or Suna Vesha of Lord Shri Jagannath of Puri.jpg

After the chariots of the deities return to the main temple from the Gundicha temple, the deities are attired in gold ornaments and worshipped on the chariots. This celebration is known as Suna Besha. Tradition maintains that this event was first started by King Kapilendra Deva in 1460, when after returning victorious from war he donated gold to Jagannath.{{cite news|title=Jagannath glitters in golden get-up|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Jagannath-glitters-in-golden-get-up/articleshow/38041163.cms|access-date=13 July 2014|work=The Times of India|date=9 July 2014|archive-date=12 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712090910/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Jagannath-glitters-in-golden-get-up/articleshow/38041163.cms|url-status=live}} The deities are adorned with gold jewelry weighing nearly 208  kg. In 2014 nearly nine hundred thousand devotees witnessed this event held on 9 July.

In 2015 on the occasion of Rath Yatra,, lakhs of devotees thronged the coastal town of Puri to catch a glimpse of the deities re-embodied after 19 years on chariots. This was the largest-ever religious congregation in Odisha.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Image:Rath Yatra.jpg]]

File:Rath yatra Toronto 2011.jpg]]

The Ratha Yatra festival has become a common sight in most major cities of the world since 1968 through the ISKCON Hare Krishna movement. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada popularised the festival globally, which now happens on an annual basis in over 108 cities including: Moscow, New York, Houston, Atlanta, London, Rome, Zurich, Kolkata, Mumbai, Karachi, Berlin, Heidelberg, Cologne, Florence, Wrocław, 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, Dubai, Oslo, Zhongshan, Myitkyina, Bangkok, Port of Spain, Manama, Rijeka and many other cities.{{Cite web |url=http://www.festivalofindia.org/ |title=Festival of India |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-date=25 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225085443/http://festivalofindia.org/ |url-status=dead }} The Ratha Yatra in Dhamrai, Bangladesh, is one of the most important in Bangladesh.

This table shows the dates for Ratha Yatra held in Puri, Odisha. These dates shows from the Year Nabakalebara, 2015 to the Year of next (After 19 years) Nabakalebara, 2034.

Jagannath temple employs different kinds of sevakas who offer their services on the Ratha.

• Suara
• Mahasuara
• Dahuka: Ratha dahuka boli ({{Langx|or|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.{{cite book |title=The Eastern anthropologist, Volume 54 |author=Ethnographic and Folk-Culture Society (Lucknow, India) |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tKR-AAAAMAAJ&q=dahuka |location=Lucknow, India |access-date=29 October 2016 |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405051232/https://books.google.com/books?id=tKR-AAAAMAAJ&q=dahuka |url-status=live }} These songs are sung publicly without any kind of hold on the lyrics.{{cite book|title=Lord Jagannatha: the microcosm of Indian spiritual culture|last=Surendra|first=Mahanty|author-link=Surendra Mohanty|year=1982|publisher=Orissa Sahitya Akademi|pages=93|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNIXAAAAIAAJ&q=dahuka|location=Bhubaneswar, Orissa|access-date=29 October 2016|archive-date=3 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103173813/https://books.google.com/books?id=XNIXAAAAIAAJ&q=dahuka|url-status=live}} Dahuka controls the movement of Ratha during the festival.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gmtuAAAAMAAJ&q=dahuka | title=Orissa, people, culture, and polity | publisher=Kalyani Publishers | year=1980 | access-date=26 March 2012 | author=B. B. Jena | pages=313 | isbn=9788123726731 | archive-date=3 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103173813/https://books.google.com/books?id=gmtuAAAAMAAJ&q=dahuka | url-status=live }}{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sILXAAAAMAAJ&q=dahuka | title=Car Festival of Lord Jagannath, Puri | publisher=Sri Jagannath Research Centre (Purī, India) | access-date=26 March 2012 | author=Sarat Chandra Mahapatra | year=1994 | location=Puri, India | archive-date=3 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103173810/https://books.google.com/books?id=sILXAAAAMAAJ&q=dahuka | url-status=live }}
• Daita pati
• Puspalaka
• Banati Players: Banati is an age-old art, in which a person spins balls set on fire and tied to the ends of a rope. Every year during the Rath yatra devotees perform "Banati" to appease Jagannath.{{cite news|title="Banati" players perform martial art ode to Lord Jagannath|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1068285251.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601070513/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1068285251.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 June 2013|access-date=15 September 2012|newspaper=Hindustan Times, Delhi|via=HighBeam Research|date=27 June 2006}} Knives and fireballs, which are attached to the Banati add colour to the procession of the deity as it reaches its destination

Hera Panchami is a ritual observed during the period of Rath Yatra in the Grand Jagannath Temple of Puri. It is known as a ritual of Goddess Lakshmi. The fifth day from Rath Yatra, i.e., the fifth day in bright fortnight of Ashadha is known as the Hera Panchami.{{cite web |url=http://www.jagannathdham.com/hera-panchami/ |title=Hera Panchami – Articles - Jagannath Dham |work=jagannathdham.com |year=2012 |quote=It is celebrated on Ashada Shukla Panchami, fifth day in bright fortnight of Ashadha month in Oriya calendar. |accessdate=25 June 2012 |archive-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814035415/http://www.jagannathdham.com/hera-panchami/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web| url=http://www.shreekhetra.com/carfestival2.html| title=Rituals of Car Festival of Puri| quote=‘Hera’ means to ‘see’ and ‘Panchami’ means the ‘fifth day’.| accessdate=June 25, 2012| archive-date=11 May 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511103651/http://shreekhetra.com/carfestival2.html| url-status=live}} During Ratha Yatra, lord Jagannath comes out on a divine outing with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra along with his divine weapon Sudarshana, leaving behind His wife Mahalaxmi. The Goddess expresses her anger for the deity. She proceeds to the Gundicha Temple, the Adapa Mandapa in a palanquin in the form of a Subarna Mahalaxmi and threatens Him to come back to the temple at the earliest. To make Her pleased, the deity concedes to Her by offering her {{Transliteration|mr|agyan mala}} (a garland of consent). Seeing the Goddess furious, the sevakas close the main door of the Gundicha. Mahalaxmi returns to the main temple through the Nakachana gate. In a unique ritual, the Goddess orders one of her attendants to damage a part of the Nandighosa chariot. This is followed by her hiding behind a tamarind tree outside the Gundicha Temple. After some time, she escapes to her home temple in secrecy, through a separate path way known as Hera Gohri Lane{{cite web |url= http://orissadiary.com/orissa_profile/ori_festival/june/Hera_Panchami.asp |title= Hera Panchami |work= orissadiary.com |year= 2012 |quote= Laxmi sets out in night and visits the Gundicha Temple through Badadanda and returns secretly through the Heragohiri Sahi or street after breaking a piece of wood of Nandigosha Ratha |accessdate= 25 June 2012 |archive-date= 23 June 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120623193413/http://orissadiary.com/orissa_profile/ori_festival/june/Hera_Panchami.asp |url-status= dead }} The unique ritual is enjoyed by lakhs of devotees of Jagannath.

The rituals of Hera Panchami as an important function of Srimandira finds mention in Skanda Purana. According to the history of the Temple, this "utsav" started during the time of Maharaja Kapilendra Deb. Before his reign, the Hera Panchami function was being observed in a symbolic way with recitation of Mantras. As stated in Madala Panji, Raja Kapilendra Deb substituted this practice with the introduction of an idol of Mahalaxmi made of gold and making the celebration more realistic.{{cite journal|last1=Dash|first1=Durgamadhaba|title=The Ritual of Herapanchami and Lord Jagannath|issue=April, 2015|pages=6–10|url=http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2015/Apr/engpdf/6-10.pdf|accessdate=17 August 2015}}

• Famous Hindu yatras
• Hindu pilgrimage sites in India
• List of Hindu festivals
• Padayatra
• Ratha Yatra
• Tirtha
• Tirtha and Kshetra
• Section-"Ratha Yatra rituals"

{{reflist|30em}}

{{reflist|group=Hindu Holiday}}

{{Commons category|Rath Yatra}}

• [http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/OR-Annual-2009/pdf/65-67.pdf Orissa government publication on the event]

{{Jagannath}}

{{Odia culture}}

Category:Ratha Yatra

Category:Odia culture

Category:Festivals in Jagannath

Category:Puri

Category:Religious festivals in India

Category:Hindu festivals