India is a country which is an amalgamation of culture,tradition and rituals when the sunrise invites with the bell of the temple and sunset is surrounded by the Namaz at Masjid.
In India there is a place called Odisha’s JagannathPuri. Every year when the summer ends and the monsoon starts,there is a God who comes outside to meet his devotees. This God is one of the form of Lord Krishna strike of Vishnu i.e. Lord Jagannath. I belong to this great land of Lord Jagannath and I pay my regards to the Lord with folded hands.
Jai Jagannath! This year’s Rath Yatra is unique as it has arranged within one day. Due to COVID-19 the Supreme Court had ordered a stay on the Rath Yatra, June 18 but the infinite love of the Lord for his children (devotees) made the decision change miraculously on June 22 and he came outside. It was like Lord Jagannath listened to the prayers of millions of people. In every house Lord Jagannath is either the friend or brother or relative of every member.
The Rath Yatra is among the 4 holy tirth yatra of India and also recognised internationally. Puri is also known as Niladri,Shankha Kshetra, JagannathPuri,etc. Also this Yatra is known as Gundicha Yatra.
Puri has a great Lord Jagannath Temple from where Lord Jagannath Yatra initiates. Every devotee has a dream to watch the Lord being taken from the temple to the Rath. This tradition is being nurtured since 1000 of years,where anyone from any religion, caste, creed, etc. can see God and feel him.
The greatness of the great King of Puri who bends his head to sweep the Lord’s Chariot ,this tradition is known as Chehra Paharana in front of millions of people ,which depicts equality as the priority for Lord Jagannath that is not seen anywhere except Puri. In every place devotees go to meet the Lord but here the Lord himself comes to meet them once in a year.
60 pouthi types of bhogs are offered to God. Raja Anantavarman had made this ancient monument in 12th Cent,just 2 kms away from Bay of Bengal. This Chariot is made of wood which is bought from a particular village from Daspalla. People come walking 1000 kms just to have a glance of the hearty Lord Kalia. This process starts from Akshaya Tritiya. Red and bluish green Chariot belongs to Lord Balabhadra named Taladhawaja, Red and black chariot belongs to Subhadra called Devadalana and the Red and Yellow color chariot belongs to Shree Jagannath which is known as Nandighosha. The whole environment is chanted by the holy name of Lord Jagannath. All have a wish to drag the rath and touch the holy rope. I request everyone to visit my place , the Lord Jagannath place atleast once in a lifetime.
Jai Jagannath!
Gaurav Udgata
Assistant Professor
School of Civil Engineering
KIIT(Deemed to be) University
Bhubaneshwar , Odisha,India
