Saturday, July 10, 2010

Puri Rath Yatra utsav festival India:

Rath Yatra Puri wallpapers
Rat Yatra Festival India wallpapers
Rat Yatra Utsav image
Rath Yatra Puri pictures
Rath Yatra Puri images

Puri Rath Yatra utsav festival India

The largest and the grandest of all festivals, the highlight is the holy journey of the statues of the Lord Jagannath of Puri with brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra from main temple to Gundicha Temple, where they stay for nine days. The huge wooden chariots carrying the three deities pulled by thousands of devotees, present a amazing scene. The yatra utsav (journey) start on the next day of the lunar month (asadha).The Rath Yatra utsav is also well-known as Car Festival. An annual festival commemorates the journey of Krishna from Gokul to Mathura. It also represents a journey to glow from the dark, which commences on the 2nd day of the bright fortnight in the month of Asadha (June/July). Lakhs of devotees converge to the city to join festivities lasting for nine days. In this journey, thousands haul the three huge rathas (chariots) carrying statues of Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra, down Grand road to the Gundicha Temple--just 2 km away in Puri, Orissa.Puri Rathy Yatra utsav --The chariot festival of Puri in Orissa, India. During the first phase of the rituals, the Chandan Yatra, the Chalanti Pratimas (moving statues) of the deities take a ceremonial ride in a boat in Narendra Tank for 21 consecutive days, once a refreshing bath in fragrant sandal wood (chandan) scented water. This is followed by Snana Yatra, exactly the festival of bath, in which the three are taken to Snana Badi, a bathing stage where the deities are ceremonially bathed with 108 pitchers of water. After which the gods are believed to convalesce inside the sanctum sanctorum and undergo treatment in which particular ayurvedic medicine and some particular liquid diet (sarapana) is offered to them. Closed to public view, through this time of 15 days, the pilgrims have to be content with a darshan of images on the Pattachitra paintings hanged there.The Ratha Yatra in Puri really takes place throughout the full moon of the following month, Asadha (June/July) in a spectacular riot of colur and noise. Designed like a temple sanctuary, the immense chariots are draped with brightly colored clothes. Lord Jagannath's chariot, 13 m, is the tallest and has 16 wheels each 2 m in diameter. Subhadra has a yellow face and rides in a red chariot. Balabhadra has a white face and rides in a chariot with 14 wheels and 4 horses.

Noisy gongs announce the boarding of the deities onto the chariots with the arrival of the Raja of Puri accompanied by bejeweled elephants. The Raja sweeps the chariot with a golden bloom, fulfilling his role as the sevaka (servant) of the gods, a gesture symbolizing humility and equality with all castes. After the festival, the raths are broken and bits are used for firewood in the kitchens or sold to pilgrims as relics. New chariots are made each year to rigid specifications of make laid down in temple's very old manuals.

The assembled multitudes from all over India, the cacophony of music and percussion and the decorated chariots offer a memorable knowledge. Stories from very old times, about some fanatics throwing themselves below the massive wheels of the chariots to die a death in hope of achievement of eternal bliss, abound.

Ganesh Picture

Ganesh Picture