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Rath Yatra, the car festival of India is very close to the hearts of all Indians. It is a unique event that is nothing like anything you have ever seen! This is one festival that is celebrated on a large scale in every part of India. Be it Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore, no matter the place, people come together to celebrate the 9-day journey of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

What is Rath Yatra

Do you know what is Rath Yatra? With three huge chariots housing each of our three deities being pulled by hundreds of devotees from one temple to another, this car festival is a treat to the eyes!

In July every year begins the 9-day sojourn of three deities Lord Jagannath, his sister Maa Subhadra and his brother Lord Balabhadra to the Gundicha temple and back. While the onward visit is called the famous Rath Yatra, the return journey is called Bahuda Yatra. Read more on the reason behind this journey.

– It’s Significance and the Story

King Indrayumna was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu and wanted to build a temple in his honour. Not knowing how to go about it, he prayed to Lord Brahma to guide him on the right path. Lord Brahma appeared before him and suggested that he must seek advice and blessings from Lord Vishnu for the best solution.

After a long bout of prayers, Lord Vishnu appeared in the King’s dream and told him to get a log of neem wood from Bankamuhana. Once the king had sourced the wood from the said forest, now he faced the problem for the right person to craft the idols. Any carpenter who set to the task could reach nowhere as their instruments kept getting stuck or broken on touching the neem wood. The king was now in a quandary.

One day, as he was sitting in this forlorn state, he received a visitor by the name of Ananta Maharana. Disguised as an artist, he was none other than Lord Vishwakarma, the architect of the Gods. He offered to make the idols on condition that he won’t be disturbed till his work is complete. The king agreed.

Now Vishwakarma started his work inside a closed room with all the doors and windows closed. You could hear the sounds of work getting done from the outside. The work continued for a long time. Months passed, and people started getting curious. One day, no sounds came from inside the room. The silence continued for the next few days.

Out of curiosity, the King and his sister opened the door to the room. They saw that the idols were partially prepared with only the head and torso, and no hands and feet. On seeing the King, Vishwakarma got angry. He said that since the former has broken his vow, the work would remain incomplete. Saying this, he left. And that is how we came to have our three deities with only a head, torso and two arms each with no hands and feet.

About Rath Yatra - Why is Rath Yatra So Unique

Queen Gundicha was the sister of King Indradyumna, the one who built the Jagannath temple of Puri. According to folklore, Lord Vishwakarma had built the idols of Lord Jagannath, Maa Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra from wood logs at the Gundicha temple. Queen Gundicha was the one who had opened the doors to the room while the work on the building of idols was midway. Seeing this, Lord Vishwakarma left his work incomplete and disappeared.

It is said that after the Jagannath temple was built, the Holy Trinity would visit Gundicha temple once a year for 8 days and make the return journey on the 9^th day.