Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra | Date & Time of Jagannath Rath Yatra | History & Significance

Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra falls on 23rd June 2020 (Tuesday) with the Bahuda Jatra aka Ulta Ratha (Return Car) on 1st July 2020 (Wednesday). The Jagannath Rath Yatra is one of the largest and the most-celebrated festivals of India that happens at the renowned Jagannatha Temple in Puri (Odisha). Every year millions of devotees arrive at this temple to take darshan of Lord Jagannatha. The festival date of Jagannath Rath Yatra is determined in line with the Hindu Lunar Calendar. Generally it falls on Dwitiya Tithi during Shukla Paksha of Ashada month (June-July). Basically this festival celebrates the annual visit of Lord Jagannatha to the Gundicha Mata temple constructed by King Indradyumna for his wife Gundicha. Mata Gundicha was extremely devoted to the service of the Lord and therefore Lord pays His annual visit to the temple.

All About Lord Jagannath

Lord Jagannatha is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is revered by the followers of Vaishnava sect (Vaishnavas). The word Jagannatha is the combination of two words Jaga & Natha where Natha means Lord and Jaga means the Universe. In Jagannath Puri Temple He is worshipped along with His brother Balabhadra and His sister Devi Subhadra. This temple is located in Puri which is one of the four Hindu pilgrimages called as Chara Dhama. It is believed that followers of Hinduism must visit these four pilgrimages once in a lifetime in order to wash off all their sins and attain mukti (liberation) from the pangs of the material world.

Ancient History of Jagannath Temple Puri

According to legends Indradyumna was a king who worshipped Lord Vishnu very much. One night the king slept and saw God Jagannath in his dream. He also heard the voice of Lord Jagannath about a fragrant tree and ordered him to make idols from this tree. So the king made the idols of God Jagannath (incarnation of Lord Vishnu or Krishna), Balabhadra & Subhadra. Along with these idols he also made the Sudarshan Chakra.

After then the king prayed to Lord Brahma to visit the temple and the idols of deities. When Lord Brahma saw the temple he was very pleased and asked about a desire which he (Lord Brahma) can fulfil. The king Indradyumna asked Brahma that there shall be no issues in his life and he should be the last one from his family. King also asked that if anybody will leave his family, then he should work for the temple and not for the society.