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Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad is the one of the grandest event in Gujarat and it begins from the Jagdish Mandir located at the Jamalpur area of the city at the early morning and there are three completely separate chariots for the idols of Krisna, Balram and their sister Subhadra and all the three chariots bears strong resemblance with the chariots of Jagannathpuri. Rath Yatra at Ahmedabad is an eminent festival which is celebrated with a huge precession and Musical bands and bhajan mandlis takes the crucial role of leading the procession and the chariots as well as the idols are adorned with flowers and garlands. Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad is celebrated auspicious day of Ashadh Sud 2, in early July and this festival got originated from Jagannath Puri on the eastern coast of the country of India.
The impressive procession of Rath Yatra venerates the auspicious journey of lord Krishna to Mathura leaving behind brokenhearted Gopis. The main chariots are devoted to lord Krishna, his brother Balaram and sister Subadhra and they are closely followed by colorfully adorned elephants, trucks, motor vehicles, pilgrims on foot, acrobats and gymnasts creating a spectacular sight. Numerous sadhus of all Vaishnavite sects and devotees travel from all parts of the country to join in the procession of Rath Yatra.
Rath Yatra at city is a day of public celebrations and one finds festive spirits in each and every corner of the city. On the day of Rath Yatra at Ahmedabad one find numerous children on the streets as they cheerfully carry miniature versions of the chariots with tiny idols installed on them. Shops and houses in Ahmedabad are embellished with beautiful flowers, bright lights and colorful rangoli and most of the households prepare their own special dishes on this day and there is a tendency among the religious minded Hindus of Ahmedabad to avoid eating non-vegetarian food on the day of Rath Yatra.
East and West: Gujarat and Odisha celebrate the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath with pomp and splendour
Today is Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya, the auspicious day for Lord Jagannath’s Rathayatra every year. Two Indian states, located on the two opposite coasts of the grand nation, are celebrating the festival with much fervor and grandeur.
20 June, 2023: Today is Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya, the auspicious day for Lord Jagannath’s Rathayatra every year. Two Indian states, located on the two opposite coasts of the grand nation, are celebrating the festival with much fervor and grandeur.
Odisha Rath Yatra:
Odisha, the home abode of Lord Jagannath, has been celebrating the Rathayatra festival for centuries now. The grand Jagannath Temple at Puri, constructed in the 12th century organizes the world’s largest and oldest Rathayatra festival every year in the ‘Bada Danda’ in Puri.
ପବିତ୍ର ରଥ ଯାତ୍ରା ନିମନ୍ତେ ହାର୍ଦ୍ଦିକ ଶୁଭକାମନା ।
Best wishes on the occasion of the Holy #RathaYatra#RathaYatra2023#JayJagannatha pic.twitter.com/ary5biyF3j
— Shree Jagannatha Temple Office, Puri (@SJTA_Puri) June 20, 2023
The three grand chariots await outside the Singhadwara of the Temple on the day of the Rathayatra. The construction of the chariots starts on the day of Akshaya Tritiya, and designated carpenters, known as ‘Maharanas’ make the chariots. The colour schemes, and design of the chariots are fixed for each of the three Gods.
Lord Jagannatha’s chariot is called ‘Nandighosha’, Lord Balabhadra’s chariot is called ‘Taladhwaja’ and Devi Subhadra’s chariot is called ‘Debadalana’. Lord Sudarshana rides in the Debadalana too.
The process of bringing the holy Trinity out from their pedestal in the temple to their respective chariots is called ‘Pahandi’.
After the Gods are seated in their respective chariots, the Gajapati Maharaj, the traditional ruler of Kalinga, performs the ritual of ‘Chhera Panhara’. It is the ritual of sweeping the chariots with a golden broom. It signifies the belief that the Gajapati Maharaj is the servant of Lord Jagannath and rules in his name.
The Chhera Panhara ritual has another significance in Odia folklore and literary tradition. Odia epic ‘Kanchi Kaveri Upakhyana’ describes Purushottama Deva’s campaign to win kingdoms in the south of Kalinga. Purushottama Deva was insulted by Kanchi ruler Saluva Narasingha Deva because the former wanted to marry the latter’s daughter Padmavati. Saluva Narasingha Deva had declared that he would rather get his daughter married to a poor sweeper than allow her to marry the Kalinga Gajapati.
Purushottama Deva, fumed at the insult, had attacked Kanchi and eventually won with direct help from Lord Jagannatha and his brother Lord Balabhadra. After bringing Padmavati to Kalinga, he was yet to forget the insult. So he had declared that Padmavati will be married off to a sweeper, just as her father wanted.
However, the clever ministers of Purushottama Deva knew that the Kanchi princess deserves to marry the Gajapati, and Kalinga deserves a queen of unparalleled beauty and qualities that she possessed. So on the day of Rathayatra, when Purushottama Deva was performing the sweeping ritual, they brought the Kanchi princess on board the chariot, and she put a garland on the neck of the Gajapati, just when he held a broom in his hand, literally being a ‘sweeper’.
Purushottama Deva had loved the princess and there was no way he could be angry now, after being married to her in the presence of Lord Jagannatha himself.
Thus, the ministers avoided their king’s wrath and made him see reason by forgetting his anger.
In Puri’s Rathayatra, the Gods visit the Gundicha Temple and stay there for 9 days. Then they return to their own Temple, that Yatra is called ‘Bahuda Yatra’.
Gujarat Rath Yatra:
Gujarat is home to Dwaraka, Lord Krishna’s kingdom. Like Odisha, it too has a deep Vaishnava tradition. The state has been celebrating Rath Yatra for nearly a century and a half.
It is celebrated as a ‘Lokotsav’ or a public festival in Gujarat. Though many cities have their own Rathyatra, Ahmedabad hosts the grandest and biggest event. The CM performs the ‘Pahind Vidhi’ which is similar to the ‘Chhera Panhara’ ritual of Odisha.
In Ahmedabad Rath Yatra, the chariots pass through the different parts of the city. The chariots cover a distance of 14 km and the devotees offer ‘mahabhoj’ to the entire entourage.
Live: CM Shri @Bhupendrapbjp ji performs Pahind Vidhi: commenced 146th Rathyatra in Ahmedabadhttps://t.co/nY3eztGmac
— Harsh Sanghavi (Modi ka Parivar) (@sanghaviharsh) June 20, 2023
Union Minister Amit Shah today performed the mangal aarti at the Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad before the commencement of Rath Yatra. CM Bhupendra Patel performed the ‘Pahind Vidhi’. This is the 146th year of the Ahmedabad Rathayatra.
Gujarat and Odisha are separated by over 1800 km, located on the opposite coasts of India. However, Rathayatra is something that binds the two states together. Each celebration is unique in its style and decorations, but the deep Jagannath Bhakti and the Vaishnava traditions of their people are what bring them close in mind and spirit.
Rathyatra celebrations in these two distant states are another example of how the states of India, despite diverse linguistic and cultural norms, are bound together by strings of Hindu tradition and spirituality.
