145th Jagannath Rath Yatra

Context

The 145th Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra is being held in a full-fledged manner after a gap of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The Jagannath Rath Yatra festival is observed every year in India as per the Hindu calendar (Shukla Paksha Dwitiya Tithi, Ashadha month).

History

• The Puri Rath Yatra festival is an annual celebration held in Puri, a state of Odisha. 
• The Rath Yatra is associated with Lord Jagannath, the Lord of Universe. 
• It is believed that the festival started when the sister of Lord Jagannath (Subhadra) expressed her desire to visit Puri (Odisha's State). 
• In order to fulfil Subhadra's wish, Lord Jagannath along with Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra left for Puri in a chariot. 
• Since then the Jagannath festival is being observed every year as per the Hindu calendar.
• On the Jagganath festival, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra leave in their chariot and pay a visit to Gundicha Temple. They stay in the Gundicha Temple for a period of 8 days. 
• After the eighth day, the deities (Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra) leave from the Gundicha Temple and this period is called Bahuda Yatra.
  

About Jagannath Temple

• The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in the state of Odisha on the eastern coast of India.
• The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
• It is one of the Char Dham pilgrimage sites.
• This temple was called the “White Pagoda” and is a part of Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).
• There are four gates to the temple- Eastern ‘Singhdwara’ which is the main gate with two crouching lions, Southern ‘Ashwadwara’, Western ‘Vyaghra Dwara' and Northern ‘Hastidwara’. There is a carving of each form at each gate.
• The Nilachakra – Or the Blue wheel perched on top of the temple is made of eight metals or ashtadhatu.
• In front of the entrance stands the Aruna stambha or sun pillar, which was originally at the Sun Temple in Konark.