For the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the timing of Rath Yatra is a matter of scriptural injunction rather than convenience.
On July 16 begins the Puri Rath Yatra for Lord Jagannath. Where else is Lord Jagannath celebrated?
The chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings resumed their journey to the Gundicha Temple in Puri, Odisha, a day after the annual Rath Yatra festival began, following delays in rituals and adverse weather conditions.
July 16 will be the biggest and happiest day of the year in Puri, home to the magnificent Jagannath Temple.
A controversy has erupted in Odisha after Lord Jagannath's idol was moved from the Puri temple to the chariot during the Rath Yatra without its traditional 'Tahia' floral headgear, leading to strong criticism from opposition parties BJD and Congress against the BJP government.
One of Odisha's oldest and most cherished sweets is Arisa Pitha.
One person died and many others fell ill in a temporary crowd surge during the Rath Yatra celebrations in Odisha's Puri on Thursday, official sources said.
The incident took place around 4 am when hundreds of devotees gathered near the temple to witness Rath Yatra festivities, Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain said.
One person was injured on Friday during the Rath Yatra procession in Ahmedabad, when a male elephant, agitated by excessive noise, broke a barricade and rushed into a narrow lane, officials said.
The chariot, with the new set of tyres, will carry Lord Jagannath on this year's Rath Yatra which will be held on June 27.
Around 70 people were undergoing treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital in Puri, with nine reported to be in critical condition, an official said.
More than 600 people have visited hospitals and medical camps in Puri. However, only over 130 have been admitted to hospital, said Director of Health Services, Bijay Mohapatra.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former deputy prime minister Lal Kishenchand Advani is contemplating another rath yatra to pay homage to those who sacrificed everything for the country's freedom.
Just six years after his father's Rath Yatra, the BJP came to power in New Delhi in 1996, points out Jayant Advani.
Modifying its June 18 order in which it had said that this year's Yatra cannot be allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the apex court permitted holding of the Yatra after taking note of Odisha government's stand that it 'can be held in a limited way without public attendance'.
Amid tight security and monitoring by two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, the 136th Lord Jagannath rath yatra began in Ahmedabad on Wednesday morning.
Samples of 1,143 servitors were tested on Monday night, as per directives of the Supreme Court.
'Lord Jagannath won't forgive us if we allow this year's Rath Yatra to go on'
Instead of the usual cavalcade of around 100 trucks, decked up elephants, akhadas and singing troupes, this year's procession consisted of only three chariots, pulled by nearly 100 youths from the Khalasi community, and four to five other vehicles.
The incident happened around 4.30 pm in Uttar Pabiacherra in Kumarghat during the 'Ulta Rath Yatra' or return car festival organised by ISKCON, they said. During this festival, the sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhdara and Lord Jagannath -- return to their abode in a chariot, a week after Rath Yatra.
The incident happened around 4.30 pm in Kumarghat area during the 'Ulta Rath Yatra' or return car festival of Lord Jagannath organised by ISKCON, they said.
After giving 'Sanghi terrorism' tag to saffron outfits, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Saturday alleged that the sequence of blasts in the country began after L K Advani's rath yatra and stopped after arrest of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha activists in terror cases.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani felt 'vindicated' about his Ayodhya 'rath yatra' in the wake of the Allahabad high court verdict and preferred a negotiated settlement for building a Ram temple at the place where the makeshift now stands.
Chants of 'Jai Jagannath' rent the air all over as the news about the Supreme Court giving its nod for holding the world famous car festival in the pilgrim town reached the state bringing cheers among people, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi performed the traditional ritual of Pahind by sweeping the path with a golden broom, paving way for the Yatra to begin.
Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, along with his disciples, paid obeisance to the idols on their respective chariots.
Chief Secretary A K Tripathy and Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay rushed to the pilgrim town to make the necessary arrangements. "The DGP and I are rushing to Puri to take stock of the situation as per the direction of the chief minister. We will camp there," Tripathy said.
Jaswant Singh, who was suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday for going ahead with his decision to contest the election from Barmer constituency as an independent candidate, has claimed that he had never supported either the Ram Janambhoomi movement or the Rath Yatra led by Lal Krishna Advani.
"It is a matter of faith for crores. If Lord Jagannath will not come out tomorrow, he cannot come out for 12 years as per traditions," said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra.
The nine-day festival, June 21-29, is considered the biggest of all Iskcon celebrations and the theme for this year's yatra was 'Krishna Bhakti in Russia'. Prakriti Prasad reports.
The devotees pulled three 40-foot high colourful chariots carrying the sacred deities of Lord Jagannatha, Lady Subhadra and Lord Balarama from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. The giant chariots were accompanied by a procession of singers, musicians and dancers. At Trafalgar Square, where the procession concluded, thousands of people had gathered to witness cultural and educational displays and exhibitions linked to the Rath-yatra.
The Supreme Court had on Monday allowed the holding of the Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri, a ground on which the Gujarat government had moved its plea.
The total length of rath yatra procession stretches up to 1.5 km. It will return to the temple after almost 11 hours of journey.
With Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani reportedly planning another rath yatra, the Congress on Monday attacked the BJP patriarch and hoped that this yatra did not create 'discord'. "There is yet another yatra by the eternal yatri, the Bhishm Pitamah of the BJP, L K Advani. The ambition of the yatri knows no bounds. We hope this is not a journey of vendetta, hatred and creating discord," said party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi.
The elaborate rituals, which commenced early in the morning, concluded after the three wooden chariots of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Goddess Subhadra reached their destination at Gundicha Temple from Sri Mandir well before evening.
Kickstarting his party's 'Mission 2022' with a 'rath yatra,' Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying it has 'crushed farmers' and on return to power in Uttar Pradesh would 'crush the Constitution' as well.
Putting at rest speculation over his participation in senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani's 'rath yatra' in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced he would flag off the event from Sitab Diara in Saran district on October 11 to mark birth anniversary of Jay Prakash Narayan.
'There is no need for panic as there is widespread protective immune memory in the population from vaccination as well as prior infections.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party decided to put on hold Shah's proposed rally and the Rath Yatra, saying it will wait for the final order from the high court, which will now hear an appeal by the saffron party on Friday morning.
