What is Return Ratha?
Return Ratha is Lord Jagannatha's procession home. After His stay at the Gundica temple, He mounts His chariot once more and is pulled back to His own temple at Jagannatha Puri. The day is widely known as Bahuda Yatra, and in 2027 it falls on Tuesday, 13 July, eight days after Ratha Yatra.
Significance
Srila Prabhupada explains in the Caitanya-caritamrta that the car festival recalls Srimati Radharani's meeting with Krishna at Kurukshetra, where He had come with His brother and sister. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, in his Anubhashya on that chapter, writes that Jagannatha Puri stands for Dvaraka and the Gundica temple for Vrindavana. The Lord is thus led from a place of opulence to the simple village of Vraja.
Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes the return in a short passage of the Caitanya-caritamrta:
The next day Lord Jagannātha came out from the temple and, riding on the car, returned to His own abode.
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 14.244
On that day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees again chanted and danced before the chariot with great pleasure. Then Lord Jagannatha sat on His throne, and Mahaprabhu went back to His residence with His devotees.
How to observe it
Read the closing verses of Madhya-lila chapter 14, from the Lord's return on the car to Mahaprabhu going home with His devotees. Join in kirtana of the holy names in the mood in which Mahaprabhu danced, and if you can, pull a Jagannatha chariot or visit a Jagannatha temple.
Questions
When is Bahuda Yatra (Return Ratha) in 2027?
Bahuda Yatra, or Return Ratha, falls on Tuesday, 13 July 2027, eight days after Ratha Yatra.
What happens on Return Ratha?
Lord Jagannatha rides His chariot from the Gundica temple back to His own temple at Jagannatha Puri, where He sits on His throne. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees chant and dance before the car.
What is the connection between Ratha-yatra and Kurukshetra?
The festival recalls Srimati Radharani's meeting with Krishna at Kurukshetra during a solar eclipse, and Her wish to lead Him back to Vrindavana. Srila Prabhupada writes that the song Mahaprabhu heard at Ratha-yatra refers to that meeting.
Where is the return of Lord Jagannatha described?
The return is described in Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 14.244 to 14.255. The book is the work of Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, with translation and purports by Srila Prabhupada.
Reviewed by ISKCON Kurukshetra · Updated
Key facts
- Date
- Tuesday, 13 July 2027
- Lord worshipped
- Lord Jagannatha
- Described in
- Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 14.244 to 14.255
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