Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariot: Chariots of Shri Jagannath is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Odisha, on the second (Dwitiya) day of Shukla Paksha (waxing cycle of the moon) of Ashadha Maasa (3rd month in Lunar Calendar).
The presiding deities of the Jagannath Temple, Puri's main temple, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel (Sudarshana Chakra/ସୁଦର୍ଶନ ଚକ୍ର), come from the temple in a ceremonial procession to their chariots.
The huge, colorfully decorated chariots are drawn by a multitude of devotees on the Badadanda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha Temple (Gundicha – King Indradyumna's Queen), two miles away to the North.
Description of the Chariots
The three chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are newly constructed every year with wood of specified trees like phassi, dhausa, etc. They are customarily brought from the ex-princely state of Dasapalla by a specialist team of carpenters who have hereditary rights and privileges for the same. The logs are traditionally set afloat as rafts in the river Mahanadi. These are collected near Puri and then transported by road.
The three chariots are decorated as per the unique scheme prescribed and followed for centuries stand on the Bada Danda, the Grand Avenue. The chariots are lined across the wide avenue in front of the temple close to its eastern entrance, which is also known as the Sinhadwara or the Lion's Gate.
Around each of the chariots are nine Parsva devatas, painted wooden images representing different deities on the chariots' sides. Each chariot has a charioteer (Sarathi) and four horses.
Chariot Details | Lord Jagannath | Lord Balabhadra | Devi Subhadra |
| Name of Chariot | Nandighosha | Taladhwaja | Darpadalana |
| Number of wheels | 16 | 14 | 12 |
| Total Number of wooden pieces used | 832 | 763 | 593 |
| Height | 44' 2" | 43' 3" | 42' 3" |
Content Source: Wikipedia
Photo Source: SJTA Puri
N.B.: All these photos are taken from the Official Twitter Account of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, Puri. Though this handle is not licensed in creative commons license, we are using this for informatical use only and yes with all credits.
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