Puri: The historic ‘Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra’, one of the holiest and largest religious festivals in India and the world, began today (July 16) with great pomp.
Lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad have flocked to the city of Puri, and the entire city is immersed in an ocean of devotion with the chanting of ‘Jaya Jagannath’. The Shri Jagannath Temple administration has announced the official religious schedule of this grand festival, and the chariot festival has been launched amidst tight security.
Jagannath comes out of the temple and blesses
Usually, during most Hindu festivals, devotees have to go inside the temples to get the darshan of the god. However, the specialty of the Puri Rath Yatra is different. Here, Lord Jagannath himself, along with his elder brother Balabhadra and younger sister Subhadra Devi, comes out of the temple and blesses every devotee standing on the road, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or wealth.
According to the Sanatan tradition, Lord Jagannath leaves the Jagannath temple with his siblings and makes an annual journey to the ‘Gundicha Temple’, which is believed to be the house of his maternal uncle, which is about 3 kilometers away. The deities will stay at the Gundicha Temple for these nine days.
The wonder of building new chariots every year
The most exciting thing about this festival is that the chariots of the previous year are never reused here. Instead, every year, three completely new wooden chariots are built from the day of Akshaya Tritiya, using special trees carefully selected from the forests.
The chariot of Lord Balabhadra is called ‘Taladhwaja’.
The chariot of Goddess Subhadra is called ‘Darpadalana’.
It is a deep belief of millions of devotees that just by touching and pulling the rope of this giant chariot once, the sins of many births are washed away.
Important dates and schedule of Rath Yatra 2026 July 16, 2026 (Today – Thursday): The grand start of the Rath Yatra. ‘Pahandi’ ceremony of bringing the idols from the temple to the chariot and the movement of the chariot.
July 17 to July 23: The stay of the deities at the Gundicha Jagannath temple and special pujas.
July 24, 2026 (Friday): ‘Bahuda Yatra’ (return journey) when the deities return to their original Jagannath temple after a nine-day stay at their aunt’s house.
‘Chhera Pahara’ is the most beautiful and humane ritual of the Puri Rath Yatra.
The king sweeps the chariots: Before the chariots set off, the present-day Gajapati Maharaja of the Puri royal family comes to the chariots, sweeps the garbage around the chariot with a golden-handled broom, and sprinkles sandalwood water.
Message of Equality: This ritual conveys the message of supreme equality that everyone is equal before Lord Jagannath, the creator of the world, whether a king or a commoner, and everyone is a servant of the Lord. The Odisha government and local police have prepared the vehicle traffic system and tourism facilities in the entire city of Puri for the convenience of lakhs of devotees.