New Delhi: The annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and sister Subhadra in Puri, Odisha will start from June 25, 2017 (Sunday). The world famous chariot festival involves a public procession where the deities are seated on their respective chariots attracting millions of devotees walking by their side.
The Rath Yatra or journey of the chariots has a huge religious significance. During the month of Asadha in June or July, the presiding deities of Lord Jagannath, brother Balabhadra, and sister Subhadra are taken from their Puri temple to Bada Danda and complete the distance of almost 3 km to Shri Gundicha Temple on huge chariots.
While the deities travel on chariots driven by many people, devotees and onlookers pay their obeisance and seek the darshan of the Lord for blessings. The Rath Yatra is also known as the Shri Gundicha Yatra.
The chariots are huge in size, with Lord Jagannath's chariot being approximate of 45ft high, 35ft sq and takes around 2 months to get prepared.
The festival happens to be the main attraction of Odisha attracting several tourists every year.
