रथ यात्रा

The tradition & historical record

Ratha Yatra, (transl. Chariot Festival or Car Festival), is any public procession in a chariot. They are held annually during festivals in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The term also refers to the popular annual Ratha Yatra of Puri that involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu), Balabhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister), and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, which is a wooden deula-shaped chariot. Ratha Yatra processions have been historically common in Vishnu-related traditions of Hinduism—such as those dedicated to Jagannath, Rama, and Krishna—across India, particularly in the city of Puri in the state of Odisha, as well as in Shiva-related traditions, in honor of saints and goddesses in Nepal, with Tirthankaras in Jainism, and among tribal folk religions in the eastern states of India. Notable Ratha Yatras in India include the Ratha Yatra of Puri, the Dhamrai Ratha Yatra in Bangladesh and the Ratha Yatra of Mahesh. Hindu communities outside India, such as in Singapore, celebrate Ratha Yatra such as those associated with Jagannath, Krishna, Shiva and Mariamman. According to Knut Jacobsen, a Ratha Yatra has religious origins and meaning, but the events have a major community heritage, social sharing and cultural significance to the organizers and participants. Western impressions of the Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Puri as a display of unstoppable force are the origin of the English word juggernaut. ¹

Ratha Yatra is derived from two Sanskrit words: ratha, meaning chariot or carriage, and yatra meaning journey or pilgrimage. According to Vaishnava theology, devotees pull the ropes of the Ratha Yatra as an expression of their identity as eternal servants of Jagannath, seeking his attention and favour. ¹

Ratha Yatra is a journey in a chariot accompanied by the public. It typically refers to a procession (journey) of deities, people dressed like deities, or simply religious saints and political leaders. The term appears in medieval texts of India such as the Puranas, which mention the Ratha Yatra of Surya (Sun god), of Devi (Mother goddess), and of Vishnu. These chariot journeys have elaborate celebrations where the individuals or the deities come out of a temple accompanied by the public journeying with them through the Ksetra (region, streets) to another temple or to the river or the sea. Sometimes the festivities include returning to the sacrosanctum of the temple. Traveler Fa-Hien who visited India during 400 CE notes the way temple car festivals were celebrated in India. ¹

The cities and towns of this country [Magadha] are the greatest of all in the Middle Kingdom [Mathura through Deccan]. The inhabitants are rich and prosperous, and vie with one another in the practice of benevolence and righteousness. Every year on the eighth day of the second month they celebrate a procession of images. They make a four-wheeled car, and on it erect a structure of four storeys by means of bamboos tied together. This is supported by a king-post, with poles and lances slanting from it, and is rather more than twenty cubits high, having the shape of a tope. White and silk-like cloth of hair is wrapped all round it, which is then painted in various colours. They make figures of devas, with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli grandly blended and having silken streamers and canopies hung out over them. On the four sides are niches, with a Buddha seated in each, and a Bodhisattva standing in attendance on him. ¹

Ratha-Jatra, Puri, at Puri in the state of Odisha, is the largest and most visited Ratha Yatra in the world. Rath Yatra (Ahmedabad) is the third largest in the world. People of Bastar region observe Ratha Yatra during Dussehara. ¹

The Goncha festival is celebrated in Jagdalpur, in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, and is linked with the worship of Lord Jagannath. This tradition is linked with the historical connection between Bastar and the Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha. According to local tradition the Kakatiya ruler Purushottam Dev brought the Ratha Yatra tradition to Bastar following his visit to Puri in the fifteenth century. ¹

During the annual Ratha Jatra at Tarbha in Subarnapur district, Odisha, a distinct ritual tradition is observed where Lord Jagannath is adorned in a different Besha (costume attire) representing one of the Dashavatara (ten principal incarnations of Vishnu) on each day of the festival, starting with the Matsya Avatar on Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya, the first day of Ratha Jatra. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Ratha Yatra”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Ratha Yatra is Hindu festival, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 6 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²