It is the main festival of Puri, Orissa. On this Rath Yatra, three beautifully decorated chariots are pulled along the streets of Puri. The journey begins from the Gundicha Mata Temple to Mausi Maa temple and remains there for seven days. This is the only day when foreigners and non- Hindus who are not allowed inside the temple can get a glimpse of the idols. On this festival devotee from all over the world visit Puri with the hope of pulling, the rope of the chariot once with their hand, which they think, is a pious deed. In fact, people risk their lives in pulling the rope in such a huge crowd. Many people died also. The celebration is broadcast in the television.

Lord Jagannath is known as one of the avatar of Lord Vishnu. The festival of Rath Yatra is of great significance for the people of Orissa. On this day the deities of Lord Jagannath is taken out on the streets of Orissa along with his brother Lord Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra in a grand procession in the wooden chariot which beautifully decorated and pulled by thousand of devotees. The chariot is pulled and taken to the aunt's home of Lord Jagannath at Mausi Maa Temple where they stayed for seven days and then after seven days they return to their original destination.

The festival begins in the morning with 'Ratha Prathistha'. Then in the afternoon, the chariot pulling ceremony begins when Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra start rolling on the streets of Puri. Thousand of devotees try to pull the rope of the chariots. The three wooden chariots are constructed for each idol. These three chariots have different name. Lord Jagannath chariot is known as Nandighosa, which has 18 wheels and is 45 feet in height, Lord Balabhadra chariot consists of 16 wheels and is 44 feet in height is known as Taladvaja and Subhadra chariot consist of 14 wheels and is 44 feet in height is known as Dwarpadalana. The idols are made of wood. The fairs are held in an around Puri. People enjoy the festival very much.

Puri Rath Yatra is very famous all over the world. The crowd gathered on these festivals in Puri is very attractive. It is one of the holy places. On these festivals, many skilled artist and artisans gathered in Puri many days before the start of the festival to construct the wooden chariots and decorate them beautifully with colorful paintings, which attract the devotees very much. Then these chariots are taken out on the streets on the very auspicious day known as "Rath Yatra" or "Chariot Pulling".

Article Posted By : banerjee2u  On July 11, 2013lView All Articles

I am a housewife.Love to write articles and like to cook different types of food. I also like to travel various places and wanted to know about the people and its culture.

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Puri Rath Yatrs