Rath Yatra SMS 2011

May the good times and treasures of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow.Wish you lots of love, joy and happiness.

” Rath Yatra “

The 132nd Lord Jagganath Rathyatra will be taken out on its traditional route here amidst unprecedented security arrangements on Wednesday. The security arrangements have been concentrated in communally sensitive areas like Kalupur, Prem Darwaja,…

The three chariots are pulled by thousands of devotees. The yatra is a round trip from the main temple to another nearby temple where the idols of the deities rest for seven days before their return to the main temple.

Early morning see sunrise at the Puri beach. Then visit the Lord Jagnnath Temple. On this special day, Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra leave the temple at Puri seated atop their chariots. The three chariots are pulled by the devotees for over a distance of nearly five kilometres to the Gundicha Bari temple. Here, the gods will reside for the next seven days. On the ninth day of the festival, they will begin the return journey, known as bahuda or ultaratha. The stretch of road on which the chariots travel is known as badadanda or the grand road. You may join the other devotees and pull the Rath. Overnight stay at hotel.

If you've ever wondered what a juggernaut actually looks like, this is where you can see it- in the great annual rath yatra (often referred to, rather prosaically, as the (Car Festival) of Lord Jagannath in Orissa. The venue for the festival is the town of Puri, famed for its temple to Lord Jagannath, as Krishna is known in this part of the country. The festival commemorates the journey of Krishna from Gokul to Mathura.

For the rath yatra, three huge chariots - each with about a dozen wheels up to 7 feet in diameter - are ritually pulled through the streets, from the Jagannath temple to the temple of Gundicha Mandir. The raths are replicas of the Jagannath temple and each of them carries an idol - of Jagannath, of his brother Balbhadra and his sister Subhadra - to Gundicha Mandir, where they stay for a week before being taken back, again in the raths, to the Jagannath Temple.

Orissa is famous for its Rath Yatra in Puri, held every year. This festival is held to commemorate Lord Jagannath, who is said to have been the incarnation of India's revered deities, Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna.

Held for nine days, the colourful Jagannath Yatra attracts tourists not only from all over India, but also from abroad. On the first day of this Yatra, statues of Lord Krishna, Lord Jagannath's brother Balabhadra and his sister – Subhadra are taken in a procession to the Gundicha temple, which is two kilometers away from the Jagannath temple.

On the ninth day, the statues are brought back with due ceremony. All these deities are worshipped by the lakhs of devotees that throng the city during these nine days.

The king, or raja of Puri arrives at the temple accompanied by heavily bejeweled elephants, to the loud beating of gongs. The raja, expressing his humility as a sevak (servant) of the lords, sweeps the chariots with a golden broom.

The idols of the deities are carried in three separate raths, or chariots, each several feet high and pulled by strong ropes. Balram's rath, the first to be taken out, is blue in colour. This is followed by Subhadra's rath, which is in black. Lord Krishna’s rath comes last, and is coloured yellow. Pulling or even touching the ropes of these chariots is considered to be auspicious and many struggle to do so. Legend has it that those who can see all the chariots moving in the south direction will be granted salvation.