Pilgrimage (Hindu) to Puri

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Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra Information on Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, providing on-line reservation /booking for Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra Tirth on discounted rates, air/rail ticketing, car/ taxi / coach hire for Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra Tour package. Click Here to book a pilgrimage to Jagannath Puri. The Jagannath Temple of Puri is one of the four most famous holy pilgrimages of the Hindus. About The Rath Yatra Festival Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India. The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira, Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel Sudarshana are taken out from the temple precincts in an elaborate ritual procession to their respective chariots. The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North. After a stay for seven days, the deities return to their abode in Srimandira. The entire Ratha Yatra is a symbolic humanisation of God. All rituals associated with the festival demonstrate an attempt to bring the God down from His pedestal of glory to a more human level. On the day of journey the three chariots the yellow coloured Nandighosa, blue coloured Taladwaja and Deviratha are lined up in front of the temple and then the deities are brought on to their respective Chariots. Once the king of Puri sweeps the chariots with scented water and golden broom, the pilgrims lined up with the rope pull the chariots on the Badadanda to Gundicha Ghar. The festival is also known as Gundicha Jatra, Ghosa Jatra, Navadina Jatra, Dasavatara Jatra and by a variety of other names. For the devoted and believers, it is considered the most auspicious occasion. Rathe tu vamanam drishtwa punarjanmam na vidyate A glimpse of the Vamana, the dwarf form, an incarnation of Lord Jagannatha, is sure to ensure emancipation, release from the cycle of birth and death. Jatra is an essential part of the ritual of the Hindu system of worship. Jatra literally means travel or journey. The Chariots of Jagannath Puri Rath: 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. The final ritual in the celebration is the pulling of the chariots. The chariot of Lord Balabhadra is pulled first followed by that of goddess Subhadra. At last the grand moment and the climax of the day’s celebration is reached when the chariot of Lord Jagannatha, Nandighosha starts its spectacular journey to the Gundicha temple. Thousands of devotees who patiently wait the whole day for this blessed moment are ecstatic with joy and pull the chariots with a sense of fulfillment. Time of Jagannath Yatra: Every year in July, the sacred coastal town of Puri comes alive to celebrate the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, one of the biggest festivals during the monsoon season. According to the Indian solar calendar, it falls two days after the new moon day of the month of Asadh. Location of Jagannath Puri: Jagannath Puri is situated on the sea coast of Bay Of Bengal in the state of Orissa. It is 60KM away from the state capital (Bhubaneshwar) and 90KM from Cuttack. One can visit Jagannath Puri very conveniently from any part of India by Road, by Rail and by the Public Transport System. Good accommodation is provided for the Pilgrims and for the tourist in Hotels, Lodging Houses and Dharmshalas. The majestic ancient temple of Lord Jagannath is situated in the middle of the Jagannath Puri.