RATHYATRA : The Journey Of Jagannath

The English dictionary lists a word Juggernaut', which has originated from this festival celebrated in the temple town of lasannathpuri in Orissa. In this eastern state where there are more than 10,000 temples dedicated to various deities of the Vaishnava cult, June brings a procession or yatra of the chariot of Ta~annath held in Pnri.

The British, awed by the unstoppable surge of humanity pulling the rath or chariot, coined the term 'Juggernaut', to indicate an irresistable force. During the Rathayatra festival, the idol of Jagannath is taken in procession along the streets of Puri to a specific point, before starting again on the homeward innrnev a few davs later.

Puri is the site of the great Car Festival of Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe. The ropes of the huge chariots are pulled by millions of devotees who also believe that this act bestows salvation upon them.

The Puri Rathyatra is now legendary. An incredible mass of humanity, consisting of both the devout and the curious, converges on this temple town in Orissa. The devout believe that pulling on the rope of the rath assures them of heavenly salvation. Every citizen dresses up and offers sweets to the deity when the rath goes through his home street and aratis are performed along with the singing of devotional songs. Rathayatra is truly a mass celebration because of the thousands of devotees who dance ecstatically in front of the deity as it proceeds from street to street.

Though this festival originated in Orissa, it has become a common sight in cities like Bombay, where in the midst of the heat of June, highly ornamented raths are brought to the beach for a public darshan of the deity by thousands of people before the procession disperses.