Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord
Jagannath is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the
east coast of India .
The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira, Lord Jagannath, Lord
Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel Sudarshana are taken
out from the temple precincts in an elaborate ritual procession to their
respective chariots. The huge, colorfully decorated chariots, are drawn by
hundreds and thousands of devotees on the Bada Danda (big road), the grand
avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North. After a stay
for seven days, the deities return to their abode in Srimandira.
Ratha
Jatra is perhaps the grandest festival on earth. Everything is on a scale
befitting the great Lord. Full of spectacle, drama and color, the festival is a
typical Indian fair of huge proportions. It is also the living embodiment of
the synthesis of the tribal, the folk, and the autochthonous with the
classical, the elaborately formal and the sophisticated elements of the socio-cultural-religious
ethos of the Indian civilization.
Sanctity and Significance of Ratha Jatra (Car Festival)
Sanctity and Significance of Ratha Jatra (Car Festival)
The festival is also known as Gundicha Jatra, Ghosa
Jatra, Navadina Jatra, Dasavatara Jatra and by a variety of other names. For
the devoted and believers, it is considered the most auspicious occasion. Rathe
tu vamanam drishtwa punarjanmam na vidyate A glimpse of the Vamana, the dwarf
form, an incarnation of Lord Jagannatha, is sure to ensure emancipation,
release from the cycle of birth and death.
Jatra is an essential part of the ritual of the Hindu system of worship. Jatra literally means travel or journey. Normally, it is the representative deities of temples more popularly known as Utsava Murti in south and Chalanti Pratima or Bije Pratima in Orissa, partake in these journeys. It is rarely that the presiding deities come out of the sanctum for such ritual journeys. The Jatra for the Ritual Journey take two forms – one involving the short circumbulation around the temple and other involving a longer journey from the temple to some other destination. The Jatra is considered as an important part of festivities and ceremonies of each temple and is considered as a special and sacred occasion.
Rath Jatra being unique among all Jatras is the grandest festival of the supreme divinity that has manifested himself in the Kali Yuga to emancipate humanity and to relieve them from their sufferings. Lord Jagannatha is identified fully with Vishnu and
A glimpse of Lord Jagannatha on the chariot is
considered to be very auspicious and saints, poets and scriptures have
repeatedly glorified the sanctity of this special festival.
The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages. In fact, there is a famous Oriya song which says that on this occasion, the chariot, the wheels, the grand avenue all become one with Lord Jagannatha himself.
The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages. In fact, there is a famous Oriya song which says that on this occasion, the chariot, the wheels, the grand avenue all become one with Lord Jagannatha himself.
The concept of the chariot has been explained in
the Kathopanishada in the following words-
Atmanam rathinam viddhi
sareeram rathamevatu
Buddhim tu saarathim viddhi marah pragrahameva cha.
The body is the Chariot and the soul is the deity installed in the chariot. The
wisdom acts as the charioteer to control the mind and thoughts.
The Skanda Purana glorifies the sanctity of
the Rath Jatra in the following words-
Gundicha mandapam namam
yatrahamajanam pura
Ashwamedha sahasrasya mahabedi tadadvabat.
Those who are fortunate to see the deities of the
Srimandira in the Gundicha
Temple , the final
destination of the procession of the chariots, derive the benefits of a
thousand horse sacrifices, an immensely pious deed. Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja
in his famous Vaidehisa Vilasa mentions that the Lord comes out from his
sanctum for participating in the Gundicha Jatra, another name of the Festival
of Chariots, only for redeeming the fallen, the patita jana who get the opportunity
to behold their dearest god at close quarters on this occasion. Similarly,
saint poet Salabega waxes eloquent in praise of his dearest dark darling and
says that the Lord swaying and moving like a wild elephant arrives at the Grand Avenue and rides his chariot and destroys in a
flash all the sins of his devotees, even if these may be grave or unpardonable.
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