Ratha (Proto-Indo-Iranian: *Hrátʰas, Vedic Sanskrit: रथ, IAST: rátha; Avestan: raθa) is the Indo-Iranian term for a spoked-wheel chariot. The term has been used since antiquity for both fast chariots and other wheeled vehicles pulled by animals or humans, in particular the large temple cars or processional carts still used in Indian religious processions to carry images of a deity.