Ratha-Yatra

Ratha-Yatra (Puri), the Chariots Von deiner Mutter"Rath" in Puri.

A Ratha-Yatra or Roth Jatra or Chariot Festival is a Hindu festival that involves transporting deities on a chariot (called a ratha or roth).^[1] The festival originated in Puri in the State of Odisha. The rath (chariot) is carrying Lord Jaggannath and due to its massive size and weight and sometimes seemingly unstoppable nature, has led to the English word juggernaut to refer to an unstoppable force.^[1] Accidents involving people being crushed under the wheels of the chariot have also occurred a few times.

"Ratha" (ରଥ) in Oriya means chariot and "yatra" (ଯାତ୍ରା) means journey. The festival thus refers to the annual journey of the divinity in the form of idols to their aunt's (ମାଉସୀ) house. "Aunt" here refers to the feminine creative aspect of divinity.

Examples include:

Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra

• Ratha-Yatra (Puri), at Puri in the state of Odisha, India. The oldest, biggest and most visited Rath Yatra in the world. It attracts a large crowd.
• ISKON Kolkata Ratha Yatra is the second largest in the world.
• Dhamrai Jagannath Roth, at Dhamrai in Bangladesh, the most famous Rath Yatra in Bangladesh
• Rathayatra of Mahesh, at Mahesh in West Bengal
• Bangalore Ratha Yatra, Bangalore's Grandest Ratha Yatra

Radha and Krishna

• Radha Rani Rath Yatra, held at the Radha Madhav Dham temple near Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
• Rajbalhat Ratha Yatra, West Bengal, India.
• People of Bastar region observe Ratha yatra during Dussehara.^[2][3]

Rath Yatras of Jagannath

Rath Yatra at Puri

The Jagannath triad are usually worshiped in the sanctum of the temple at Puri, but once during the month of Asadha (Rainy Season of Orissa, usually falling in month of June or July), they are brought out onto the Bada Danda (main street of Puri) and travel (3 km) to the Shri Gundicha Temple, in huge chariots (ratha), allowing the public to have darśana (Holy view). This festival is known as Rath Yatra, meaning the journey (yatra) of the chariots (ratha). The Rathas are huge wheeled wooden structures, which are built anew every year and are pulled by the devotees. The chariot for Jagannath is approximately 45 feet high and 35 feet square and takes about 2 months to construct.^[4] The artists and painters of Puri decorate the cars and paint flower petals and other designs on the wheels, the wood-carved charioteer and horses, and the inverted lotuses on the wall behind the throne.^[5] The huge chariots of Jagannath pulled during Rath Yatra is the etymological origin of the English word Juggernaut.^[6] The Ratha-Yatra is also termed as the Shri Gundicha yatra.

Pahandi bije during Ratha Yatra at Puri

The most significant ritual associated with the Ratha-Yatra is the chhera pahara." During the festival, the Gajapati King wears the outfit of a sweeper and sweeps all around the deities and chariots in the Chera Pahara (sweeping with water) ritual. The Gajapati King cleanses the road before the chariots with a gold-handled broom and sprinkles sandalwood water and powder with utmost devotion. As per the custom, although the Gajapati King has been considered the most exalted person in the Kalingan kingdom, he still renders the menial service to Jagannath. This ritual signified that under the lordship of Jagannath, there is no distinction between the powerful sovereign Gajapati King and the most humble devotee.^[7]

Chera pahara is held on two days, on the first day of the Ratha Yatra, when the deities are taken to garden house at Mausi Maa Temple and again on the last day of the festival, when the deities are ceremoniously brought back to the Shri Mandir.

As per another ritual, when the deities are taken out from the Shri Mandir to the Chariots in Pahandi vijay.

In the Ratha Yatra, the three deities are taken from the Jagannath Temple in the chariots to the Gundicha Temple, where they stay for nine days. Thereafter, the deities again ride the chariots back to Shri Mandir in bahuda yatra. On the way back, the three chariots halt at the Mausi Maa Temple and the deities are offered Poda Pitha, a kind of baked cake which are generally consumed by the poor sections only.

The observance of the Rath Yatra of Jagannath dates back to the period of the Puranas. Vivid descriptions of this festival are found in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, and Skanda Purana. Kapila Samhita also refers to Rath Yatra. In Moghul period also, King Ramsingh of Jaipur, Rajasthan has been described as organizing the Rath Yatra in the 18th Century. In Orissa, Kings of Mayurbhanj and Parlakhemundi were organizing the Rath Yatra, though the most grand festival in terms of scale and popularity takes place at Puri.

Moreover, Starza^[8] notes that the ruling Ganga dynasty instituted the Rath Yatra at the completion of the great temple around 1150 AD. This festival was one of those Hindu festivals that was reported to the Western world very early. Friar Odoric of Pordenone visited India in 1316-1318, some 20 years after Marco Polo had dictated the account of his travels while in a Genoese prison.^[9] In his own account of 1321, Odoric reported how the people put the "idols" on chariots, and the King and Queen and all the people drew them from the "church" with song and music.^{[10] [11]}

International Jagannath Rath Yatra

Rath Jatra festival in New York City organized by ISKCON

The Ratha Yatra festival has become a common sight in most major cities of the world since 1968 through the ISKCON Hare Krishna movement. Its leader A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada successfully transplanted the festival which now happens on an annual basis in places all over the world in over 100 cities including Dublin, Belfast, Birmingham, London, Bath, Melbourne, Montreal, Paris, New York, Singapore, Toronto, Antwerp, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles (celebrated in coastal Venice, CA),^[12] Mexico,^[13] and others.

Dhamrai Jagannath Roth festival

Festival at Dhamrai, Bangladesh, with the chariot beginning its journey

Dhamrai Jagannath Roth is a chariot temple, a Roth, dedicated to the Hindu God Jagannath located in Dhamrai, Bangladesh. The annual Jagannath Roth Jatra is a famous Hindu festival attracting thousands of people. The Roth Jatra in Dhamrai is one of the most important events for the Hindu community of Bangladesh.^[14] The original historical Roth was burnt down by the Pakistan Army in 1971 ^[1] The Roth has since been rebuilt with Indian assistance.

Rathjatra of Mahesh

The Rathajatra of Mahesh is the second oldest chariot festival in India (after Rath Yatra at Puri) and oldest in Bengal,^[15] having been celebrated since 1397.^[16] It is a week-long festival held in Mahesh in Hooghly district of West Bengal and a grand fair is held at that time. People throng to have a share in pulling the long ropes (Roshi) attached to the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra on the journey from the temple to Serampur Gundicha Bari and back.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rath Yatra.

Bibliography

• J. P. Das (1982). Puri Paintings: the Chitrakara and his Work. New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann. 
• P. Mitter (1977). Much Maligned Monsters: A History of European Reactions to Indian Art. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226532394. 
• O. M. Starza (1993). The Jagannatha Temple at Puri: Its Architecture, Art, and Cult. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-09673-8. Retrieved 15 December 2012.