Jagannath Rath Yatra

The Puri Rath Yatra is world famous and attracts more then one million pilgrims every year, not only from India but also from the different parts of the world. Rath Yatra in other words the Chariot Festival is the only day when devotees who are not allowed into the temple can get a chance to see the deities. This festival is a symbol of equality and integration.

Story Behind For Rath Yatra:The 3 deities, Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra are worshipped within the temple, on this festival they are taken to the streets of Puri so that everyone can have the fortune to see them. The 3 deities make an annual journey to their aunt’s temple (Gundicha Temple), 2 km away from Lord Jagannath temple.
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is one among the four most sacred temples in India. The other three are: Rameshwaram in south, Dwarika in west and Badrinath in north.
The festival begins with the invoking ceremony in the morning and the chariot pulling on the roads of Puri in afternoon is the most exciting part of the festival. The 3 deities have 3 different chariots - the chariot of Lord Jagannath, Nandighosa, has 18 wheels and is 45.6 feet high, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra, Taladhwaja has 16 wheels and is 45 feet high and the chariot of Subhadra, Devadalana has 14 wheels and is 44.6 ft high. Every year the wooden temples like chariots are constructed newly. The idols of these three deities are also made of wood and they are religiously replaced by new ones in every 12 years

Amid tight security, the 137th Lord Jagannath’s rathyatra began on Sunday morning, with Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel creating history to be the first female CM to perform the pahindvidhi at Jamalpur’s Jagannath temple.As per the century old tradition, elephants had the first glimpse of Lord Jagannath and are leading the procession through different parts of the city.

The chief minsiter reached Jagannath temple at around 6.45 am and performed the ‘Pahind Vidhi’ for the rathyatra with a ‘golden-broom’ (symbolic cleaning of the path for chariot of Lord Jagannath).

“On Ashaadhi Dooj (second day of waxing moon cycle in the Hindu month of Ashadh), performed Pahind Vidhi to mark the beginning of Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath,” Anandi Patel said on twitter.After setting off from the over 400 year-old iconic temple, the rathyatra will traverse through about 14 kilometre route in the city.

As many as 18 elephants led the rath yatra followed by 98 trucks and a participation of 30 akhada and several bhajan mandali the rath yatra will cover a distance of 18 kilometre covering some of the communal sensitive areas of old Ahmedabad city including Dariyapur and Shahpur.

Hundrerds of devotees thronged the city streets across the route amid tight security right from early morning to witness the rath yatra that will conclude by evening. The procession halts at Saraspur, where the local people offer ‘Maha Bhoj’ to the entire entourage.

PM Modi, who used to perform ‘Pahind Vidhi’(symbolic path cleaning on chariot of Lord Jagannath) when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, recollected the fond memories and said that he cherished that experience. He was the only chief minister, who performed the ‘Pahind Vidhi’ ritual for record 12 times.