On the second day of the bright half of Ashadha
(June-July), Ratha Yatra is celebrated throughout the country, and chariot procession of Sri Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) are taken out
through the main markets and streets. But the main festival is held at Puri in Orissa.
The Car Festival of Puri is famous all over the world
and thousands of devotees from the country and abroad participate in this most spectacular religious event. The 12th century imposing Jagannath
shrine, 60 kms from Bhubaneshwar, is situated on Nilachala mountain. It is one of the four great holy places. The other three are Badrinath,
Dwarka and Rameshwaram.
For a devout Hindu, a pilgrimage to Jagannath Puri is a must and a life long ambition. It is believed that a three days and nights sojourn to Puri will free a pilgrim from future
births and deaths. Most of the time it is crowded with pilgrims, but on the occasion of Ratha Yatra, Puri becomes a ocean of seeting humanity. On this auspicious day, Lord
Jagannath is taken out in a huge procession and on an enormous chariot, 45 feet high, 35 feet square, and supported on 16 wheels, 7 feet in diameter. The chariot is drawn by
thousands of devotees who view with one another to have this honour.
The other two chariots are those of Balbhadra and Subhadra brother and sister of Sri Krishna. Balbhadra's chariot is 44 feet high and has 14 wheels, while that of Subhadra is 43
feet high and has 12 wheels.
The event commemorates Krishna's journey to Mathura from Gokul at Kansa's invitation. The chariot procession goes along the broad avenue to Gundicha
Mandir, the Lord's Summer Garden House, where they stay for seven days and then are brought back to the temple. At the termination of the ceremony, the chariots are broken up
and used to manufacture religious relic. Every year new chariots are made. The deities themselves are made of wood and renewed at certain intervals when certain astronomical
conditions are there. The wood selected for this purpose must also satisfy certain conditions.