Car Festival in Puri ( 22 June 2012 ) :
Jagannath Temple of Puri is associated with many festivals and celebrations all thorough the year. Car Festival in Puri or the Puri Rath Yatra is the grandest one amongst them. The festival is celebrated every year in the month of June or July as per the English calendar and in the month of Asadh as per the Hindi calendar.One this auspicious day the lords of the Jagannath Temple leaves the main temple and proceeds for the abode of queen Gundicha who is the wife of King Indradyumna. The legend says that it was King Indradyumna who has laid the foundations of the Jagannath temple. The Rath Yatra Puri 2012 is scheduled on 22 June and the return journey or the ‘Bhuda Yatra’ is planed for 1st July. The believe that the participants of the pious ‘Rath Yatra’ book their safe ticket to heaven brings in devotees in millions in number every year to Puri. So if you are looking for that grand ticket to heaven finish your Puri Hotel booking now!!!
Lord Jagannath who is believed to be one of the incarnations of Vishnu comes out of the temple along with his siblings Lord Balbhadra and sister Goddess Shubhadra to provide a Darshanam or a pious view especially for the devotees who otherwise are not allowed in the temple.
The festival is also called Gundicha Jatra, Ghosa Jatra, Navadina Jatra, Dasavatara Jatra. The lords are taken in their respective chariots for their annual visit to Queen Guidicha’s temple where they are expected to stay for seven days. They halt at the Ardhshani temple or the Mausima Temple or the abode of their maternal aunt for a meal of a sweet dish called Poda Pitha while coming back. The saints and poets for centuries have been mentioning this glorified journey of the gods in their writing.
The religious significance of the city of Puri is immense in Hindu releigion because of the holy temple and it is believed that the powers of death God Yama is restricted in Puri because of the presence of Lord Jagannath. The preparations of the cart festival begins from the Akshaya Trithiya day. This day is being celebrated as the sandalwood paste festival or the ‘Chandan yatra’. This is a 3 weeks long festival and everyday the idols of the temple are taken out for a boat ride in the nearby Narendra Tank. Snana Yatra or the festival of bath follows the Chandan Yatra. The deities leave their jewelled throne and are bathed with 108 pots of water from the golden well or the suna kua. The idols are kept away from public viewing during the period. Following the age old traditions, the descendents of the daughter of Viswavasu – the tribal king who originally worshipped lord Jagannth, Lalitha and her husband Vidyapati are allowed to serve the god during the entire period of the holy cart festival.
The Rath Yatra Festival has been successful in mainatining its age old customs.The traditions are followed today have been there since this holy journey of gods has begun for the first time. The chariots are constructed till today in the manner they were built during the initial years. The woods of the phassi and dausa trees in form of logs are floated to Puri and the carpeteners who are engaged in the making of these chariots have been doing so for generations.
The king of Puri on the beginning of the pious journey sweeps the road with a golden broom. The gods return on the twelth day of Asadha month to their grand throne thus marking an end to the 10 days long festival.