Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra -Annual Chariot Festival

June 27 , 2025 marks the grand beginning of this sacred nine-day festival in Puri, Odisha, where devotion meets spectacle in the most vibrant way imaginable. It’s the annual chariot festival of Lord Jagannath, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, along with his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra. The deities are taken out of the Jagannath Temple and placed on massive, ornately decorated wooden chariots. These chariots are pulled by thousands of devotees to the Gundicha Temple, believed to be their aunt’s home. A celebration of the divine voyage of the deities, the festival encourages togetherness, love, and spiritual development among those who are devoted to the deities. It comes to a close with Niladri Vijaya, who is seen dismantling the chariots, which signifies the conclusion of the holy journey and the promise of its return. The ritualistic recreation of the wooden icons of four Hindu deities (Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, and Sudarshana) at Jagannath Temple in Puri is known as Nabakalebara, which is also spelt as Navakalevara (Odia: ). When the preceding Nabakalebara has passed, the ceremony is carried out in the eighth, twelfth, or nineteenth year following that. A devotee by the name of Kanchi King is reported to have offered Lord Jagannath with a huge quantity of food during one Ratha Yatra. The devotee was uncertain as to whether or not the deity would be able to digest the material. In a miraculous turn of events, all of the food vanished, which is a representation of the divine presence and the acceptance of offerings that were made with devotion. It was Kansa, their maternal uncle, who summoned them to Mathura with the intention of killing Lord Krishna and Balram. To Gokul, he dispatched Akrur accompanied by a chariot. In response to the question, Lord Krishna and Balram climbed into the chariot and moved off in the direction of Mathura. Rath Yatra is the name given to the day that devotees commemorate their departure. Lord Krishna is said to have been the Sarathi, or the driver of Arjuna's chariot, during the Mahabharata battle, which lasted for eighteen days. This is an exceptionally fascinating account.

At long last, a tale that has been handed down from generation to generation reveals the events that transpired following the cremation of Lord Krishna's corporeal corpse. During the time that Shri Krishna was being cremated in Dwarika, Balaram, who was deeply upset by the turn of events, hurried out into the ocean with Krishna's body that had been half burnt. Subhadra was the one who followed him. At the same time, King Indradyumna of Jagannath Puri, who resided on the eastern coast of India, had a dream in which the corpse of the Lord will float up to the shores of Puri. It is recommended that he construct a big statue in the city and sanctify the statues of Krishna, Balaram, and Subhadra that are made of wood.

It is recommended that the bones (asthi) of Lord Krishna's body be placed in the hollow that is located in the back of the statue. The daydream was realised. Once the splinters of bone (asthi) were discovered, the king gained possession of them. However, the question that needed to be answered was who would be carving the statues. It is commonly believed that Vishwakarma, the architect of the gods, arrived in the form of an elderly carpenter. He made it abundantly plain that no one should bother him while he was carving the statues, and in the event that someone did, he would disappear into thin air, leaving the work undone. A number of months went by. Vishwakarma's room door was opened by the eager Indradyumna, who was waiting for him. Similar to what he had warned about earlier, Vishwakarma vanished without a trace. The King sanctified the statues, despite the fact that they were not yet finished. He did this by pouring holy cinders of Lord Krishna inside the hollow of the statue and then installing them in the temple.

Every year, three enormous chariots are used to transport the statues of Lord Krishna, Balaram, and Subhadra in a procession that is considered to be of immeasurable splendour. It is the devotees who are responsible for pulling the enormous chariots from Janakpur to the temple at Jagannath Puri. Approximately once every twelve years, the statues are replaced, with the new ones being unfinished as well.

A Glimpse into History Ancient Origins: The Rath Yatra is believed to date back to the 12th century, coinciding with the construction of the Jagannath Temple by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Scriptural Roots: References to the festival appear in sacred texts like the Skanda Purana, Padma Purana, and Brahma Purana, where Lord Jagannath’s journey is seen as a divine outreach to his devotees. Mythological Significance: The Yatra symbolizes Lord Krishna’s journey from Gokul to Mathura, and more locally, Lord Jagannath’s annual visit to his aunt’s home—the Gundicha Temple. Inclusivity: Historically, this is one of the few times when non-Hindus and people of all castes can see and even touch the deities, as they are brought out of the sanctum

The Jagannath Puri Temple is considered to be one of the four most sacred temples in India. The other three temples are located in the four directions of the country, and they are Rameshwar in the south, Dwarka in the west, and Badrinath in the Himalayas. It is possible that the temple in Jagannath Puri is the only temple in the world that contains statues of three deities who are related to one another. These deities are Lord Krishna, Balaram, and Subhadra. Unique Rituals • Chhera Panhara: The Gajapati Maharaja of Puri sweeps the chariot floor with a golden broom—symbolizing humility before the divine. • Pahandi: The rhythmic procession where the deities are carried out of the temple to their chariots. • Suna Besha: On their return, the deities are adorned in golden attire, dazzling devotees with divine opulence. • Rasagola Diplomacy: Lord Jagannath offers rasagolas to appease Goddess Lakshmi for leaving her behind—a sweet gesture of reconciliation!

This festival is more than a procession—it’s a living theatre of devotion, where every ritual is a scene, every devotee a participant, and every moment a story waiting to be told.