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| Puri Jagannath Rathyatra, July 2022 latestly.com |
Among the Rath Yatra or temple car festivals across India the most popular one is the annual Rath Yatra festival of Puri in Odisha. In terms of crowds, pomp, pageantry and religious fervor, no other Indian temple car festival can surpass 12 century old Puri Jagannath temple where the deities are Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and their sister Goddess Subhadra. Their idols in the sanctum are made of neem wood and it shows the temple's links with tribal worship.
This year in July the grand festival went off well after a gap of two years and there was no dearth of enthusiasm and dedication despite the fact that people had just come out of the scare of COVID -19 third way threats. A mind-boggling fact is the Rath Yatra that has continued uninterrupted since 1730s could not take place 32 times between 1558 and 1735. The last time it happened was in 1733 when Mohammed Taqi Khan attacked the temple and the idols were shifted to Ganjam district. After 285 years the rath Yatra was stopped by Supreme Court in 2020.
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| Puri Jagannath temple, Odisha zeenews.india.com |
Many interesting facts about the Rath Yatra, Puri:
01. Puri jagannath is a huge temple with lots of priests and helpers. It has the largest kitchen in the world, feeding more than 50000 people daily. The Maha Prasada of this temple is quite popular. An interesting fact is the temple cooks use only earthen pots to make delicious food and only fire wood hearths are used for cooking. They shun modern kitchen gadgets and facilities that will mar the divinity of this place.
02. Lakhs of devotees gather out side the Puri Jagannath Temple from where the chariots are pulled and taken to Gundicha Temple, a few miles away from here. This annual rath yatra is believed to be the oldest religious chariot procession in the world. The chariots are physically pulled by the thousands of devotes all along the route and no bulldozer or any other heavy duty tractors are employed to push the raths from behind.
03. The convention has been that Lord Jagannath and his brother and sister are ceremoniously taken in chariots from the main temple to their aunt's home - Gundicha Mata Temple.
04. The three deities stay at their aunt's house for long nine days as it is believed that the rath was damaged by Goddess Laxmi, who was upset over her husband (Jagannath) leaving her behind.
05. After a week or so the deities begin their return journey called the Bahuda Yatra which ends with the Niladri Bije. This marks the return of the deities to the sanctum - garbhagriha.
06. In south Indian states Uttachava murtis (processional idols) are taken in a procession on the chariot. But here the images of the deities are made of neem wood specially selected by the sthapathi or Biswakarmas.
07. The needed wood logs are selected among the logs brought from Daspalla forest in Nayagarh district.The state government has an exclusive ‘Jagannath Bana Prakalpa’, a massive plantation project which provides logs for the purpose.
08.The government has also exclusive ‘Jagannath Bana Prakalpa’, a massive plantation project which provides logs for the purpose.
09. The work will begin on Akshaya Tritya after Srimandir/pundit handed over the Agyanmala (order).
10. Interestingly the idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra are made of neem wood which is chosen because as per the Bhavishya Purana it is the most auspicious wood that makes idols of Vishnu.
11. The three chariots are made well at the Rathakala before the great event and it is a tradition to have new chariots made every year coordinating various professionals - carpenters, blacksmiths, roopakaras (painters), darzis (tailors) and ‘Bhoi’ servitors.
12. Various parts of chariots are made from neem trees grown specifically for this purpose. When dismantled after the yatra, the wood from the chariot is used for making celestial toys.
13. On each chariot, along with the main deity nine other idols are also kept. So are the nine sages.
14. A rath or the chariot is built for each of the three deities well ahead of the festival. In each chariot, along with the main deity nine other idols are also placed. Nine sages are also depicted on each chariot.
15.The 45 foot tall massive rath in red and yellow color canopy is for Lord Jagannath chariot and is called Nandighosa with 18 wheels. and it alone takes two months to be built. The chariot of Balarama Taladwaja 44 ft tall , has 16 wheels and that of Goddess Subhadra’s Padmadhwaja - 43 ft tall, has 14 wheels.
16.Normally it takes a couple of months to make the raths (chariots). Normally 100 to 150 carpenters will work on the three chariots. Most of them hailing from traditional families do this work for satisfaction, love and devotion. Money is next to them.
17. The Festival takes place during Ashadha Masa, the third month of the Odia Calendar. Rathe Jatra of Lord Jagannath is taken out on the second day of the waxing phase of the moon.
18. The chariot of Lord Jagannath is believed to be a symbol of 'Sand Sandhini Sakti'; therefore, a touch of the holy structure would confer compassion and energy of the lord on the devotees.
19. A rare and interesting aspect of this festival is before the rathyatra the king (Gajapati) sweeps the ground before the chariot with a golden broom symbolizing the fact that the king is just like common people is a servant of the all pervading almighty. This tradition has been in vogue for centuries.
