Legend: Scholars say that the term Varsha (वर्ष - year) has been literally derived from the term Varsha (वर्षा - rain) and this prolific rainy season leads and represents all the seasons of the year. Rain seems to be the harbinger of prosperity and vitality to the human race and therefore, rainy season has been selected as the appropriate occasion for celebration of the festival. In Shatpath Brahman (शतपथ ब्राह्मण), the rainy season has been highly admired. In the said text an interesting legend has been narrated regarding the origin of Rath (रथ). The Rath or the Car of the god was in heaven since ages past. It was never to be noticed on earth. Once there was a terrific battle between lndra, the king of the God and the demon Vritrasur (वृत्रासुर). Seated on the chariot, when lndra violently flung the weapon of lightening (Vajra) right to the chest of the demon, it broke to four pieces and the third piece was metamorphosed into a chariot (Rath). lndra is also considered the god of rains and thunder. As the car is supposed to have been created out of his weapon, the car festival at the beginning of the rainy season has religious significance. Keeping aside the scriptural account, historians and scholars propound various theories about how and when it came about, though, the origin of this festival is still shrouded in mystry. Rath Yatra is also locally known as ‘Gundicha Yatra’. Gundicha, as believed, was the queen -of Indradyumna who founded the great shrine and installed the deities. It is said that the images of Lord Jagannath, Balbhadra and Subhadra were first built by Vishwakarma, the master-craftsman of the heaven who appeared as an old carpenter. The images were carved out of logs in a smaller shrine now known as Gundicha Temple.
Traditions: If Puri seems to be teeming most of the time, that is nothing compared to the seething mass of humanity which arrives during the month of June
for the Rath Yatra or Car Festival. The Rath Yatra or Car Festival commences from Jagannath Temple and ends at Gundicha Temple. Lord Jagannath leaves his temple on an enormous canopied car 45 feet high, 35 feet square and supported by 16 wheels, seven feet in diameter, pulled by thousands of pilgrims who vie with one another for this honor. This journey down the only broad avenue of Puri to Gundicha Mandir, the God’s Garden House, is a spectacle of the kind only India can provide. Some 200,000 pilgrims flock here to participate in the Jagannath Rath Yatra festival which commemorates Lord Krishna’s journey from Gokul to Mathura.
The deity is followed, on two smaller chariots, by his sister Subhadra and his brother Balabhadra. Our word “juggernaut” is certainly a corruption of Jagannath and it seems that occasionally some fanatical pilgrims did throw themselves under the wheels of his car, for to die in the god’s sight is a “blessing”. Such practices have been prevented during this century. The god’s return journey to the temple after seven days in his summer house is equally spectacular.
Twenty-four festivals are held every year in Puri. The Car festival (the Jagannath Rath Yatra), famed throughout the world, takes place in June or July and is the most important. Jagannath and his brother and sister, represented by wooden images, are mounted on huge cars (chariots) and dragged by pious multitudes across the broad and beautiful thoroughfares that stretch in front of the temple to the deity’s Garden House. The deity’s brother and sister have cars a few feet smaller. When the sacred images are brought forth and placed on their chariots, pilgrims fall on their knees and bow their foreheads in the dust. The vast multitude then shouts with one throat and, surging to and fro, drags the wheeled chariots along the broad street. The multitude includes many privileged drawers of the car, who hold parcels of land in the district, free of rent in return for this hereditary service. Music strikes up; cymbals and drums are sounded; the priests shout from the cars; and hired singers chant to induce the crowd to pull the cars vigorously. The distance from the temple to the Garden House is about 4 miles and though the road is level, on account of the rains and the heavy structure of the chariots, the procession takes several days to end. The festival is vastly attended and constitutes one of the most cherished celebrations to the peoples of West Bengal and Odisha.
Day & Date of Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri
| Year | Weekday | Date | Festival |
|---|
| 2024 | Sunday | July 07 | Rath Yatra |
| 2025 | Friday | June 27 | Rath Yatra |
| 2026 | Thursday | July 16 | Rath Yatra |
| 2027 | Wednesday | July 07 | Rath Yatra |