Ratha Yatra 2001

Ratha Yatra (the Chariot Festival) falls on the second day of Ashadha's bright fortnight and is the most spectacular public festival in the Hindu world, centred at Puri (Jagannath Dham) on the Odisha coast. On this day, Lord Jagannath (the Lord of the Universe), his brother Balabhadra, and his sister Subhadra are brought out of the Jagannath Temple and placed on three enormous wooden chariots that are then pulled by thousands of devotees through the Grand Road (Bada Danda) to the Gundicha Temple, 3 km away.

The three chariots are built fresh each year from sacred wood and are named Nandighosa (Jagannath's chariot, 45 feet tall, 16 wheels), Taladhwaja (Balabhadra's, 44 feet, 14 wheels), and Darpadalana (Subhadra's, 43 feet, 12 wheels). The chariots are covered in coloured canopies: yellow for Jagannath, red and green for Balabhadra, and black and red for Subhadra. Millions of people (formerly from all castes, classes, and now from all nations) pull the chariots with thick ropes.

The festival carries a theological meaning: when Jagannath leaves the temple on his chariot, he belongs to everyone, not just Brahmin priests. Traditionally the king of Puri (the Gajapati King) sweeps the road ahead of the chariot with a golden broom. Even outcasts and the poor could touch the lord's chariot: a fact noted by Muslim saint Salabega and Bhakti poet Kabir, who both wrote devotional verses to Jagannath. The word "Juggernaut" in English derives from "Jagannath": which shows how deeply this procession impressed medieval travellers.