Interesting facts about Jagannath puri rath yatra

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Facts about Jagannath puri rath yatra – The chariot journey of Lord Shri Jagannath begins from Jagannathpuri on Ashada Shukla Dwitiya. This rath yatra in Puri, Odisha, is called the Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra. It also attracts a large number of devotees from around the world. On these auspicious nine days of the festival, devotees worship Subhadra, Balarama, and Lord Krishna. The Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra is also known as the car festival or the Puri chariot festival.

Interesting facts about Jagannath puri rath yatra – Key Highlights

Want to know about some key highlights of what the Jagannath puri rath yatra actually is? Here are some interesting facts about Jagannath puri rath yatra –

Interesting facts about Jagannath puri rath yatra –

• The Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha is one of the four most sacred shrines of India. It is more than 800 years old and is the place where Lord Shri Krishna resides in the form of Jagannath. His elder brother, Balram and his sister, Goddess Subhadra are also worshiped here.
• Each one of Jagannath’s, Balram’s and Subhadra’s chariot have different names and colors. Balram ji’s red chariot is called ‘Taladhwaja’, the blue & red chariot of Goddess Subhadra is called ‘Devadalana’, while Lord Jagannath’s red & yellow chariot is called ‘Nandighosh’ or ‘Garudadhvaja’.
• While the chariot of Jagannath is set on 18 wheels, the chariot of Balram runs on 16 wheels, and the chariot of Subhadra runs on 14 wheels.

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• During the chariot journey, the chariots of all the Gods have different heights. The Nandigosh chariot of Lord Jagannath is 45.6 feet high, the taladhwaja chariot of Balramji is 45 feet high and the Darpadalan chariot of Goddess Subhadra is 44.6 feet high.
• Four wooden horses are placed in front of each chariot.
• It is also believed that the king of Puri swept the floor with a broom stick before the chariots move forward, which gives a royal procession to Lords.
• Lord Hanuman and Narsingh are placed on the chariot of Lord Jagannath.

facts about Jagannath puri rath yatra

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• The chariot of Lord Balarama bears the symbol of Mahadevji. Apart from this, the protectors of the chariot are Vasudev and Sarathi Matali.
• Goddess Durga is installed on the chariot of Goddess Subhadra. Apart from this, the guards of the chariot are Jayadurga and Arjuna.
• A special thing about these chariots is that no nail or thorn or any other metal is used in making them. It is entirely made from woods.

facts about Jagannath puri rath yatra

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• This rath yatra starts from the main temple of Jagannath and ends at the Gundicha temple, which is 2 km away from the main temple. It is a place where Lord Jagannath rested for 7 days.
• Gundicha Temple is also known as ‘Gundicha Bari’. It is the home of the God’s aunt. It is said that Dev Shilpi Vishwakarma built the idol of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Devi here.
• It is believed that any person who visits Sri Krishna, Balarama, and Subhadra Devi in the Gundicha Mandapa coming to the south direction may attain salvation.
• Skanda Purana clearly states that a person who goes to Gundicha Nagar, performing the players in the name of Shri Jagannath ji in the Rath Yatra is free from rebirth.
• The entry for this yatra is open to anyone, irrespective of caste and religion.

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