Rath Yatra Chariot Festival - July 13th - 22nd

This is spectacular chariot festival that lasts a full ten days at the Jagannath Temple, Puri (Orissa). Around one million pilgrims and devotees of Lord Jaganath come to Puri for this festival hoping to catch a glimpse of Lord Jagnnath in his chariot as he goes on vacation, with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, to his Aunts Gundicha temple.

Lord Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe. Huge images of the Lord and his brother and sister are taken out in a procession in three immense chariots. The main chariot is fourteen meters high and ten meters square with sixteen wheels. The gods are moved from the Jagannath temple to their chariots by a rhythmic movement named Pahandi to the accompaniment of the beat of the drums and cymbals with the constant atmospheric chanting of prayers by the thousands of devotees.

There is quite a chaotic few hours getting Lord Jagannath is seated on his chariot. This seems to involve persuasion by the believers through gifts of delicacies to the Lord, but to an outsider all seems strangely heated and animated with pushing amd name calling. It is quite a sight and the singing, chanting and chanting is quite overpowering.

In the end, thousands of devotees pull the chariots to the Lord's Aunt's Gundicha Mandir a temple three kilomteres away. A week later the return trip is made.

This Rath Yatra festival is the only occasion when non-Hindu devotees, who are not allowed to go inside the temple, can see the deities. It really is an amazing festival, but the huge numbers of pilgrims that flock to the festival does pose a safety risk. Deaths do occur from time to time in the immense crowd, so please take extra care if you choose to visit.