scorecardresearch
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaJagannath Yatra ⁠— a 462-year-old tradition that nearly got cancelled this year

Jagannath Yatra ⁠— a 462-year-old tradition that nearly got cancelled this year

The famous Jagannath Rath Yatra festival began Tuesday after the Supreme Court allowed it, subject to certain conditions. Here is all you need to know about it.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday gave conditional approval to conduct the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra this year, which takes place in Puri, Odisha. It limited the festival to being held only in Puri, and attached a few stringent conditions to how the famous yatra would be conducted.

First, there can be no large-scale public attendance. Only 500 people are permitted to pull each chariot, provided they had tested negative for coronavirus.

Second, all entry points into Puri have to be closed during the yatra, and there must be a curfew during the festival.

Furthermore, the top court said an interval of an hour was to be given between the procession of two chariots.

The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde also clarified that the festival, which is spread over 10-12 days, was to take place only in Puri and no other part of Odisha.

Following the court’s approval, the festival began Tuesday. Puri’s titular king Dibyasingha Deb performed the customary sweeping of the wooden floor of the chariots before they began their journey.

ThePrint finds out the history behind the Rath Yatra, which usually sees lakhs of devotees converge at the temple annually, and what makes it so unique.


Also read: Puri’s Jagannath Temple staff tests positive for Covid ahead of Rath Yatra


The venue: Jagannath Temple

The Jagannath Temple in Puri is approximately 60 km away from Bhubaneswar. It was built in 12th century AD by Chodaganga Deva of the Ganga dynasty.

The presiding deity is Lord Jagannath, along with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The temple also has statues of deities Sudarshan, Madhaba, Sridevi and Bhudevi. Jagannath is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu in Hindu mythology.

Counted among the main temples of worship in India, the Jagannath temple is on a raised platform and stands at a height of 65 m, while the main gate is guarded by the ‘Simha Dwara’, a structure with two lions.

Unlike many other temples, the Jagannath temple does not permit non-Hindus to enter.

In the past, the temple was plundered 18 times. In 1692, Mughal king Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple. However, according to ‘The Origins of Religious Violence: An Asian Perspective’ by Nicholas F. Gier, the temple was not destroyed as local officials were bribed. Instead, it was shut and reopened in 1707 after Aurangzeb’s death.


Also read: Jagannath Yatra gets BJP blessings, Ramdev’s Covid ‘cure’ & when Amitabh got drunk


The event: Pulling of the chariots 

The Rath Yatra, or the Chariot festival, is a 10-12-day annual celebration during which Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken in chariots to stay in the Gundicha Temple, 3 km away from the Jagannath temple, for nine days.

There are varying accounts in Hindu mythology as to why the deities are taken to Gudincha. One legend has it that the deities go to meet Gudincha, the queen of King Indrayumna, who is believed to have built the temple. Another legend has it that on the fourth day of the festival, Goddess Lakshmi, the wife of Lord Jagannath visits the Gundicha temple to meet her husband.

At the end of the nine-day period, the deities are brought back to the Jagannath Temple. The journey is called Bahuda Jatra or the Jagannath Yatra, and the chariots are pulled by devotees.

The procession of the three chariots from Jagannath temple to Gundicha temple is called pahandi.

The size of the chariots vary, and indicate a hierarchy between the three deities.

Lord Jagannath’s chariot is called Nandighosh and has 16 wheels. His elder brother Lord Balabhadra’s chariot is called Taladvaja, and moves on 14 wheels, while Subhadra has the smallest chariot, called Padmadhvaja, which has 12 wheels.

New chariots, the main attraction of the festival, are handcrafted every year, preparations for which begin at least two to three months in advance. Instead of metal or stone, they are carefully crafted with wood, cloth and resin.

At the end of the festival, the raths are dismantled and the wood is used as fuel in temple kitchens.

Lakhs of devotees come from across the world to participate in the festival and pull the chariots, which is considered to be an auspicious act.

While pulling the 45-foot high chariots, a huge procession is undertaken with devotional songs playing to the clanging sound cymbals and plates, and drums.


Also read: Gujarat HC refuses to recall order barring Jagannath Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad


History of the yatra

The Rath Yatra goes back all the way to 1558.

According to Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher of Jagannath culture, the festival did not take place 32 times between 1558 and 1735 due to Mughal invasions. It, however, was held during the outbreak of the Spanish flu in 1919.

It was not held for the first time in 1568 when General Kala Chand Roy, the general of Bengal King Suleiman Kirrani, attacked the temple.

From 1733 to 1735, the festival was not held because the deputy governor of Odisha, Mohammed Taqi Khan, attacked the temple, forcing the idols to be shifted to Ganjam district in the state

In present day, the rath yatra has become a landmark event that is celebrated internationally in Dublin, Moscow and New York and is broadcast on many Indian and foreign television channels.


Also read: Odisha’s Jagannath temple was at the centre of British govt decision to go secular in India


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

5 COMMENTS

  1. “The Rath Yatra goes back all the way to 1558”
    This information is wrong, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’ s biography (1486-1533) mentions this festival.

  2. Hello Print,

    My 2 messages were removed, merely because it did not appeal to your liberal mindset. Why should I visit your site anymore? Be happy in your dying liberal echo chamber.

  3. “In the past, the temple was plundered 18 times. In 1692, Mughal king Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of the temple. However, according to ‘The Origins of Religious Violence: An Asian Perspective’ by Nicholas F. Gier, the temple was not destroyed as local officials were bribed. Instead, it was shut and reopened in 1707 after Aurangzeb’s death.”

    Just as you get surprised to find a liberal writing something bad about Aurangzeb, the mask comes off in the next line, where Aurangzeb is “saved”.

  4. “Unlike many other temples, the Jagannath temple does not permit non-Hindus to enter.”

    As if it is a crime. Why should a Hindu temple allow non-Hindus? Do Muslims allow Hindus into mosques?

  5. “It was built in 12th century AD by Chodaganga Deva of the Ganga dynasty.”

    False. It was expanded and renovated, not built in 12th century. The Jagannath temple at Puri, also called Purushottama Kshetra, is referred in the Rig Veda, which is dated between 1000 to 3000 BC. The temple has been there for millenia, but renovated and expanded in the recent centuries. Liberals find joy in falsely establishing that temples are just a “recent” phenomenon.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular