Annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra begins in Puri, Odisha
The annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra, largest-ever religious congregation in Odisha has begun at Puri district on 18 July 2015.
This edition of yatra is the Millennium’s first Nabakalebar Rath Yatra meaning all the Lords of Puri Jagannath Temple will get new avatar after nineteen years. Thus, Nabakalebara marks the re-embodiment of deities.
The Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival) is 9 day-long event I which congregation of more than 50 lakh devotees from across India and abroad come together. It is celebrated annually to mark the annual visit of Deities Lord Jagannath, brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra who are taken in their respective chariots.
These deities will be brought out of the temple and will be taken by chariot to Gundicha temple which is place of their aunt’s house and indicates the feminine creative aspect of divinity. They will stay in the Gundicha temple for a week and then return.
During this traditional procession, the chariots carrying these deities will be pulled by thousands of devotees.
While in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Rathyatra of Lord Jagannath began from the 400-year-old Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area. The tradtional ‘Pahind-rituals’ i.e. the symbolic path cleaning on chariot of Lord Jagannath at temple was performed by Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
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Month: Current Affairs - July, 2015