Rath Yatra

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Published on: 18 April 2016

Rath Yatra ('journey by chariot') is a festival where the idols of Jagannath ('lord of the universe', a form of Vishnu), his elder brother Balarama and his sister Subhadra, the wife of Arjuna, are taken by chariot to M​ausima Deula, or their aunt's house. The chariots (rathas) are made of wood and pulled with long ropes by devotees of Krishna. The festival originated in Puri, Odisha. The trio is worshipped at Puri's Jagannath Temple from where the yatra starts, and it terminates at Gundhicha Temple. Every 19 years, these deities are given new forms using wood from a neem tree and this ritual is called Naba Kalebar.