Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra Story
Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra Story
Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath is held in Puri (Odissa) on the second lunar day of the dark fortnight in the Hindi calendar month of Asadh .
It is one of the largest festivals in which participants come from all over the world . The decorations on the chariot that would carry Lord Jagan Nath , Balbhadra and Devi Subhadra are almost complete . The participants who have arrived to take part in the festival are all very excited . The Chariots are made out of Neem wood that is considered as holy . It is known as Daru .
The healthy Neem trees are identified by a select committee of the temple trust . No nails or any other
metal is used in the construction of the holy chariots .
The selection of wood starts from the day of Basant Panchmi and the actual construction starts from Akshay Tritiya . After the chariots have been crafted , the ritual named as Charpahanra is performed . In this function , the ganpati raja of Puri comes in a palanquin and worships the three chariots .
The Rathmandap and the path are cleaned with a golden broom stick . The Rath yatra starts on the Dutiya of Shuklapaksha in the Hindi month of Asadh .
The chariot is pulled by the devotees while the atmosphere echoes with the sounds of www drums , Nagaras , Conchshells and Turhi . It is believed that lucky is the person gets an opportunity to pull the chariots . According to a Puranic belief , such a person is delivered from the cycle of births and death . May be this belief propels the devotees to perform the ritual with great enthusiasm , The Lord stays at the place of his mother’s sister for seven days .
The Rathyatra starts from the lagan Nath temple and passes through the city of Puri finally reaching the Gundicha temple . At this place LordJagan Nath , Bakbhadra and Devi Subhadra rest for seven days . Jagan Nath darshan is also known as Arhapdarshan .
This temple is the abode of the mother’s sister of the Lord . About this temple there is the legend that the idols in this temple were crafted by Devshilpi Vishwakarma . The legend says that on the third day of the Rathyatra , Devi Laxmi comes to this place looking for Lord Jagan Nath .
She is denied entry and in anger she breaks a wheel of the chariot and returns to a temple in the locality named Hera Gohri Sahi Puri , Later Lord Jagan Nath seeks reconciliation with Goddess Laxmi . This ritual is organized through speechless signs .
The event creates a unique feeling of devotion . Bahura Yatra is the name given to the return journey of the chariots On the tenth day of Asadh the chariots return back to the temple .
This ritual is known as Bahura Yatra . The idols remain in the chariots even after the return of the Yatra The gates of the temple are opened on the next day of Ekadashi .
The Vigraha are then re established with recitation of hymns from the Vedas Rathyatra is a social event There is no worship or fasting in any home There is no caste discrimination during the Rathyatra.
