Ratha Yatra

What is Ratha Yatra?

Ratha Yatra, widely known as Jagannath Rath Yatra, is the Festival of Chariots. In Jagannatha Puri, Lord Jagannatha, His brother Baladeva and His sister Subhadra ride out on great chariots to the Gundica temple. In 2027 the festival falls on Monday, 5 July, the day after Gundica Marjana, when that temple is cleansed.

Significance

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced and chanted before Lord Jagannatha's chariot, with kirtana parties led by Svarupa Damodara and Srivasa Thakura. From 1967 Srila Prabhupada joined his disciples in celebrating Ratha Yatra in cities around the world.

In a commentary quoted in Srila Prabhupada's Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains Mahaprabhu's mood. Mahaprabhu is Krishna in the feeling of Srimati Radharani, and He remembered Her meeting with Krishna at Kurukshetra, where She longed to bring Him back to Vrindavana. Puri, with its royal opulence, stands for Dvaraka, and Lord Jagannatha is led toward simple Vrindavana. A purport sums it up:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s leading Lord Jagannātha toward the Guṇḍicā temple corresponded to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s leading Kṛṣṇa toward Vṛndāvana.

Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 13.119, purport

How to observe it

If there is a Ratha Yatra procession near you, join it and sing the holy names as the devotees sang before the chariot. At home, read the thirteenth chapter of Madhya-lila, where Mahaprabhu dances at the car festival. Then offer obeisances to Lord Jagannatha and chant extra rounds.

The same day marks the disappearance of Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, Mahaprabhu's chief kirtana leader, and of Sri Sivananda Sena, who guided the devotees of Bengal to Puri.