Ratha Yatra

For the festival in Puri, see Ratha Yatra (Puri). For the festival in Ahmedabad, see Rath Yatra (Ahmedabad).
Not to be confused with Ram Rath Yatra.
Ratha Yatra
Three chariots of the deities with the Temple in the background, Puri
Also calledGhosa Jatra
Observed byHindu
TypeReligious
BeginsAshadha Shukla Dwitiya
EndsAshadha Shukla Dashami
2023 date20 June
2024 date7 July
2025 date27 June
2026 date16 July
Frequencyannual

Ratha Yatra[a] (/ˈrʌθə ˈjɑːtrə/), or chariot festival, is any public procession in a chariot.[3][4] They are held annually during festivals in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.[5] The term also refers to the popular annual Ratha Yatra of Puri[6] that involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), Balabhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot.[7][8]

Ratha Yatra processions have been historically common in Vishnu-related (Jagannath, Rama, Krishna) traditions in Hinduism across India,[9] in Shiva-related traditions,[10] saints and goddesses in Nepal,[11] with Tirthankaras in Jainism,[12] as well as tribal folk religions found in the eastern states of India.[13] Notable Ratha Yatras in India include the Ratha Yatra of Puri, the Dhamrai Ratha Yatra in Bangladesh and the Ratha Yatra of Mahesh. Hindu communities outside India, such as in Singapore, celebrate Ratha Yatra such as those associated with Jagannath, Krishna, Shiva and Mariamman.[14] According to Knut Jacobsen, a Ratha Yatra has religious origins and meaning, but the events have a major community heritage, social sharing and cultural significance to the organizers and participants.[15]

Western impressions of the Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Puri as a display of unstoppable force are the origin of the English word juggernaut.

Ratha Yatra in Hinduism
Viswanatha (Shiva) and Visalakshi (Parvati) chariot festival in Kerala
Chariot in Tamil Nadu
Krishna and Arjuna at a ratha festival
A girl as goddess in a Nepalese ratha during Indra Jatra
Krishna and Radha, London, UK chariot festival
Thiruvizha festival
A chariot is constructed for use in a Ratha Yatra celebration in London, UK.
  1. ^ "National Portal of India". india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  2. ^ "National Portal of India". india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  3. ^ Lavanya Vemsani (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names. ABC-CLIO. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.
  4. ^ Christophe Jaffrelot (1999). The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics: 1925 to the 1990s. Penguin Books. pp. 416–421. ISBN 978-0-14-024602-5.
  5. ^ Michaels; Cornelia Vogelsanger; Annette Wilke (1996). Wild Goddesses in India and Nepal: Proceedings of an International Symposium, Berne and Zurich, November 1994. P. Lang. pp. 270–285. ISBN 978-3-906756-04-2.
  6. ^ Peter J. Claus; Sarah Diamond; Margaret Ann Mills (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Taylor & Francis. pp. 515–. ISBN 978-0-415-93919-5.
  7. ^ Lavanya Vemsani (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names. ABC-CLIO. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3.
  8. ^ Mandai, Paresh Chandra (2012). "Rathajatra". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ Bruce M. Sullivan (2001). The A to Z of Hinduism. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 100, 166, 209. ISBN 978-0-8108-4070-6.
  10. ^ Pratapaditya Pal; Stephen P. Huyler; John E. Cort; et al. (2016). Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist Art from the Indian Subcontinent. University of California Press. pp. 72–74 with Figures 23–25. ISBN 978-0-520-28847-8.
  11. ^ J.P. Losty (2004). David M. Waterhouse (ed.). The Origins of Himalayan Studies: Brian Houghton Hodgson in Nepal and Darjeeling, 1820-1858. Routledge. pp. 93–94 with Figure 5.11. ISBN 978-0-415-31215-8.
  12. ^ Virendra Kumar Sharma (2002). History of Jainism: With Special Reference to Mathurā. DK. p. 162. ISBN 978-81-246-0195-2.
  13. ^ Ajit K. Singh (1982). Tribal Festivals of Bihar: A Functional Analysis. Concept. pp. 30–33.
  14. ^ Vineeta Sinha (2008). Knut A. Jacobsen (ed.). South Asian Religions on Display: Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora. Routledge. pp. 159–174. ISBN 978-1-134-07459-4.
  15. ^ Knut A. Jacobsen (2008). Knut A. Jacobsen (ed.). South Asian Religions on Display: Religious Processions in South Asia and in the Diaspora. Routledge. pp. 8–11, 200–201. ISBN 978-1-134-07459-4.


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