Bare Facts of Car Festival 2015

The Ratha Yatra 2015 festival can be both spiritually ecstatic and physically exhausting. Though July is the summer time, still it gathers wide range of world over pilgrims to this tiny divine land.

Jagannatha Puri, a small town is one of the most important pilgrimage centers and one of the four holiest cities in India. These four cities are Badrinatha in the north, Dvaraka in the west, Ramesvaram in the south, and Puri in the east. Badrinarayan in Badrinatha was especially worshiped in Satya-yuga, Rama in Ramesvaram in Treta-yuga, Dvarakanatha in Dvaraka was especially worshiped in Dvapara-yuga, but Lord Jagannatha in Puri can be worshiped by everyone in Kali-yuga. In fact, the importance of Jagannatha Puri, sometimes called Purushottama-Ksetra, is explained in chapters 52 through 57 of the Uttarabhaga section of the Narada Purana.

Car festival 2015 is the most popular time to go to Jagannatha Puri. This is usually in July when it is very hot. But thousands upon thousands of pilgrims flock to Puri to take part in this auspicious event, which is said to have been celebrated for thousands of years, making it one of the oldest and one of the biggest religious festivals in the world. This is the time when the Deities come out of the temple for all to see.

As big as this festival is, Puri Rath Yatra can be quite expensive. The only festival in the world that is bigger than this is the Kumbha Mela festival that draws many more millions of people. Here are some facts about Rath Yatra 2015.

 

·         This year Rath Yatra is going to be named as Nabakalebar Festival. This festival happens in every 12 to 19 years gap.

·         Nabakalebar is all about transformation of Puri temple, Odisha lords into the new body. The new wooden idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Sudarshan are welcoming to the temple with great celebration.

·         It is held in that year when the month of Ashadha is followed by another Ashadha. The previous Nabakalebar were taken place in the years like 1969, 1978 and 1996 and this year again all devotees are getting the opportunity to see changing form of lords.

·         Puri Rath Yatra is all about the 3 deities make an annual journey to their aunt's temple (Gundicha Temple), 2 km away from Lord Jagannath temple.

The 3 deities have 3 different chariots of Puri Rath Yatra - the chariot of Lord Jagannath, Nandighosa, have 18 wheels and is 45.6 feet high, the chariot of Lord Balabhadra, Taladhwaja has 16 wheels and is 45 feet high and the chariot of Subhadra, Devadalana has 14 wheels and is 44.6 ft high. Every year the wooden temples like chariots are constructed newly.  

For more information about Puri Rath Yatra visit www.rathyatra.org