Puri Rath Yatra – A Spiritual & Mesmerizing Journey

By Author: Dinesh Das
Total Articles: 15
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One of the Char Dhams, Puri is known to be an extremely sacred pilgrimage place. Several festivals are celebrated in Puri all through the year, in which Rath Yatra is the most important & renowned. A Puri trip package is worth considering from a reputed tour operator if you want to explore each and every minute detail of the world-famous Rath Yatra of Puri.

Rath Yatra is the biggest all the festivals celebrated not just in Odisha but throughout India. Full of manifestation & drama, the festival lures over five million devotees across the globe.
Popularly labeled as the “Cart Festival”, Rath Yatra is a beautiful festival celebrated in the honor of Lord Jagannath. This sacred festival falls in the month of Ashadha, on the 2nd day of the lunar fortnight that’s during the month of June-July. It’s an ancient festival that’s believed to be the gateway to heaven by the devotees.

It is that time of the year when the Lord Jagannath along with his siblings, Lord Balabhadra & Goddess Subhadra makes an early appearance on the holy town of Puri. The cart festival is the parade of the 3 deities from the Sri Mandir to the Gundicha Temple to 3 separate chariots. The chariots are made of wood from special trees. The wood is brought by carpenters with inherited rights, passed from one generation to other. It’s then allowed to float in the sea & collected to transport to Puri. The festival lasts for nine days with the siblings coming back to the Shri Mandir following a short halt at the Mausi Maa Temple.

The preparation for the festival begins in the month of January. The making of the chariots starts in the first fortnight of the months of Baisakh on the grand road. Nandighosh is the chariot of Lord Jagannath, whereas Taladwaja is the chariot of Lord Balabhadra and Devadalan, the chariot of Subhadra. Each cart is made from different colors. Gold & red depicts the chariot of Lord Jagannath. There’s a palm tree on the cloth covering the cart of Balabhadra and black, the color of shakti, depicts Goddess Subhadra. The colorful chariots are drawn in the Badadanda by thousands of devotees.

There are many tour operators that are offering affordable Puri Rath Yatra Tour Packages that you must take advantage of if you want to experience the world-famous Rath Yatra first hand. Wish you the best of luck!