Rath Yatra and the three on the chariots

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Namaste. Welcome back. Let us sit for a breath, and let the noise of the day settle. In. And out.

In the last sitting we heard how Jagannath came to Puri as sacred wood from the sea, and how Queen Gundicha opened the doors too early. Today we step out of the temple and on to the street. We are going to walk the Bada Danda, the grand road of Puri, and hear about the Rath Yatra, the festival of the chariots.

The Rath Yatra comes every year in the month of Ashadha, early in the bright half of the month, as the monsoon is arriving on the coast. The exact day changes from year to year with the lunar calendar, so please check the exact dates for your city in a panchang.

There is something unusual at the heart of this festival. In most temples, we go to the lord. We take off our shoes, we stand in line, we come to the door of the sanctum. At the Rath Yatra, the lord comes to us. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra leave the Ratnavedi, the jewelled platform, and ride out into the open road, where anyone may see them.

Let us start before the festival, because the story begins weeks earlier.

On a full moon day before the Rath Yatra comes the Snana Purnima, the bathing festival. The three deities are brought out to a high platform near the temple wall and bathed with many pots of water drawn from a well in the temple grounds. Tradition gives the number as one hundred and eight.

After this great bath, the tradition says, the deities fall ill, as any of us might after too much cold water. For about two weeks they rest out of sight. This time is called Anasara. The main doors are closed to the public, and devotees worship painted images instead, painted on cloth in the Odia style of patachitra.

During these days the Daitapatis, the servitors we met in the last sitting, take special care of the lord. They serve him as family would serve a family member who is unwell, with simple offerings, herbal preparations and quiet. I find this very human. The lord of the world is looked after like a person at home.

When the rest is over, the deities are seen again, fresh and new. People call this the darshan of youth. And soon after comes the day of the chariots.

Now to the chariots themselves.

There are three, and they are built new every year. The work begins many weeks before the festival, on the Bada Danda in front of the temple office, and tradition says it starts on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. Families of hereditary carpenters and craftspeople do this work, and they have done it for generations. Wood arrives, and day by day three great chariots rise on the road, with wheels taller than a person.

Jagannath's chariot is called Nandighosha. It is the tallest, with sixteen wheels, and it is covered in red and yellow cloth.

Balabhadra's chariot is called Taladhwaja, the one with the palm-tree banner. It has fourteen wheels, and its cloth is red and green.

Subhadra's chariot is called Darpadalana, which means the one that crushes pride. It has twelve wheels, and its cloth is red and black. The Sudarshana, the pillar that stands for Vishnu's discus, rides with Subhadra.

Each chariot is painted and decorated, with wooden horses in front, a charioteer, and small guardian figures carved around it. When the festival is over, the chariots are taken apart, and tradition says much of the wood goes to the temple kitchen as fuel. Nothing is wasted. Next year, the work begins again.

I like to imagine the Bada Danda in those weeks. It is a very wide road, wider than most roads in any old Indian town, and people say it was made so wide for exactly this day. Shops, pilgrims, cows, rickshaws and cooks all share it. And in the middle of all that daily life, the chariots slowly take shape, the sound of chisels and hammers mixing with the sound of the sea not far away.

On the morning of the Rath Yatra, the deities are brought out of the temple in a procession called Pahandi.

The Daitapatis carry the great wooden forms, step by step, rocking them gently from side to side. Gongs, conches, cymbals and drums sound together. Pahandi is one of the most moving sights in Puri, because the deities seem to walk, in their own swaying way, towards their people. Balabhadra comes first, then Subhadra, and Jagannath comes last.

Then comes a small ritual with a large meaning. The Gajapati, the king of Puri, comes to the chariots. He sweeps the floor of each chariot with a broom that has a golden handle, and sprinkles water and sandalwood. This is called Chhera Pahanra.

Think about that picture for a moment. The king, the first person of the old kingdom, does the work of a sweeper before the lord. In front of Jagannath, the tradition says, the king is a servant, and there is no work that is too small.

And then the ropes are taken up.

Thousands of people from every part of India and beyond hold the long thick ropes and pull. Balabhadra's chariot moves first, then Subhadra's, then Jagannath's. The chariots are enormous and heavy, and they move slowly along the Bada Danda. Sometimes they stop and will not move for a while, and people say the lord is resting, or waiting for someone. No one hurries him.

People in Puri say that to touch the rope, even for a moment, is a blessing. Pilgrims who cannot come to Puri often join a Rath Yatra in their own town, because many cities now hold one. Each keeps its own local customs, and all of them look back to Puri.

It is often raining by now, the first heavy rains of the monsoon. The road is wet, the crowd is pressed close, people are singing and calling out the lord's name. If you ever go, please go gently. Follow the guidance of the police and the temple volunteers, keep elders and children close, drink water, and do not push towards the ropes. The lord will be seen by everyone before the day is done.

The chariots travel down the Bada Danda to the Gundicha temple, about three kilometres away. You will remember the name. The temple remembers the queen from our first story. The festival is also called Gundicha Yatra, the journey to Gundicha.

The deities stay at the Gundicha temple for about a week. There is a lovely local tradition about these days. Lakshmi, Jagannath's consort, has been left behind in the main temple. On the fifth day, she comes to the Gundicha temple to see why her lord has not returned, and in her displeasure a small piece of his chariot is broken. This day is called Hera Panchami. It is a playful, affectionate story, told with smiles.

Then the return journey, called Bahuda Yatra.

On the way back, the chariots stop at a small temple of the lord's aunt, Mausi Maa. There, tradition says, Jagannath is offered poda pitha, a baked cake of rice, lentils and jaggery, which is said to be one of his favourite foods.

When the chariots reach the main temple again, the deities do not go inside at once. On the chariots, in front of the temple, they are dressed in golden ornaments. This is called Suna Besha, the golden attire, and huge crowds come to see it.

Last comes Niladri Bije, the lord's return into the temple. The popular tradition says Lakshmi, still hurt at being left behind, has the door closed on him. Jagannath offers her sweets, and in many homes today that sweet is the rasagola, and the door is opened. The family is together again.

Let us gather what we heard.

Before the Rath Yatra, the deities are bathed and rest out of sight for a while, cared for by the Daitapatis. The three chariots, Nandighosha, Taladhwaja and Darpadalana, are built new every year. The deities come out swaying in the Pahandi, the king sweeps the chariots, and the people pull them down the Bada Danda to the Gundicha temple. After a week they return, are dressed in gold, and go home.

One thing to take with you. At the Rath Yatra, the lord leaves his house and comes to the street, and the king picks up a broom. This week, choose one small task in your home or neighbourhood that you usually leave for someone else, and do it yourself, quietly.

In the next sitting, we hear about Nabakalebara, the new bodies of the lord, and the Daitapati families who serve him.

Keep going

• Listen: Rath Yatra and the three on the chariots
• Previous: King Indradyumna and the sacred wood
• Next: Nabakalebara, the new bodies of the lord
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• All episodes of Jagannath: the lord of the world at Puri