Hey All!!! Have you heard of Jagannath Puri in Orissa. I would like to share something about it with all of you.
Location : Puri, Orissa
Falls On :Ashadha (June-July)
Duration :10days
Orissa is a land of innumerable fairs and festivals celebrated round the year but the most spectacular of them is the Rath Yatra, hitherto known as the Car Festival to western world.
About Rath Yatra :
Puri, one of the four Dhams of Hinduism, is a coastal town located at the south end of the Mahanadi Belt. It has a famous shrine of Krishna in the form of Jagannath, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The wooden images at Puri are incomplete and the image of Jagannath is only a stump wothout arms or legs. It is a legend that god Brahma gave the image its eyes and a soul. The temple in Puri keeps this legend alive by representing Krishna as a block of wood.
In honour of Lord Jagannath, the people celebrate the "Car Festival" on the Bright Fortnight of Ashadha(June-July), which is also known as the Rath Yatra. Thus, this Rat Yatra is a yearly celebration of the original chariot festival of Jagannath Puri in Orissa. This event marks Lord Jagannath, travelling in the chariot with his brother, Lord Balaram and sister, Subhadra. It attracts pilgrims and visitors from all over the world.
The festival has been celebrated since ancient times. According to a legend about its origin, the Jagannath is said to have expressed his desire to visit his birthplace every year for a week. Thus, the deities are taken to the Gundicha Mandir evey year. According to another legend , Subhadra , wanted to visit Dwarka, her parent's home, and her brothers took her back to Dwarka this day. Thus the Rath Yatra is a commemoration of that visit. According to the Bhagavad Purana, it is also believed that it was on this day that Krishna and Balaram went to participate in wrestling competition, at Kansas invitation.
The three chariots of Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha are newly constructed every year with wood of specified trees like phassi, dhausa, etc. customarily brought from the ex-princely state of Dasapalla, by a specialist team of carpenters who have hereditary rights and privilege 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.
Lord Jagannatha’s Chariot is called Nandighosa.
Height: 45ft Wheels:16 Colour of cloth: Red and yellow
The Chariot of Lord Balabhadra, called the Taladhwaja.
Height: 44ft Wheels:14 Colour of cloth: Red and Blue
The Chariot of Subhadra, known as Darpadalana.
Height: 43ft Wheels:12 Colour of cloth: Red and Black
