Devotees In Bengal Celebrate Rath Yatra, Offer Prayers To Lord Jagannath
18 July, Kolkata
Amid tight security and thousands of devotees, adorned chariots Saturday started rolling in various regions of West Bengal on the occasion of annual Rath Yatra (Chariot Festival).
The nine-day sojourn celebrates the visit of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and sister Shubhadra’s visit to their aunt’s house.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today inaugurated the famous ISKCON Rathayatra here.
Ms Banerjee reached the temple at around 1115 hrs and performed aarti. After a darshan, she flagged off the annual journey of the three deities.
She greeted the people on the occasion of Rath Yatra and said, “May Lord Jagannath bless you with peace, prosperity and happiness.”
Amid jubilant chants of “Hare Krishna”, thousands of devotees from across the world pulled the multi-hued chariots. Themed on the world’s largest Vedic temple Chandrodaya Mandir at West Bengal’s Mayapur, the ISKCON rath yatra witnessed legions of devotees accompany the deities atop three chariots from the Hungerford Street opposite the ISKCON temple on Albert Road in south Kolkata to reach the Brigade Parade Ground in the central part of the city.
In a spirit of celebration and obeisance, the believers sang and danced all the way through to the rhythmic beats of cymballs and drums. The festival marks the age-old annual journey of the three deities from the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha, to their aunt’s residence in the Gundicha temple, 3 km away.
The festival is celebrated elsewhere too in the country by the faithful.
The chariots would be kept at the Brigade Parade Ground for the next seven days before making the return journey or Ulta Rath, July 26, marking the end of the festival