Ratha yatra of Lord Jagannath - By Harsha Lalita devi dasi

24. Wonderfully Merciful: In this Kali-yuga there is no other dharma: kali-yuga dharma haya  hari-sankirtana etad  arthe avatırna  sri sacinandana Kali-yuga dharma is hari-sankirtana. Therefore Sri Sachinandan Gaurahari descended to introduce and propagate that dharma. (Sri Caitanya-bhagavata adi 14.139) kali-kale nama-rupe krşna-avatara nama haite haya sarva-jagat-nistăra Krishna came as Gauranga Mahaprabhu and introduced nama-sankirtana by which the whole world will be delivered. Especially in Kali-yuga, there is no other incarnation of Krishna-only năma-avatara. Krishna has incarnated himself in the form of His holy name. (Cc. adi 17.22) năma vinu kali-kale  nahi ara dharma  sarva-mantra-sära nama,  ei sästra-marma In this age of Kali there is no dharma other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures. (Cc. adi 7.74) Nama-sankirtana will be preached and propagated. The atmosphere wil...

23. Patita Pavana Darshan: Sri Chaitanya took sannyasa at a very young age. As a new sannyasi, he was about to go to Vrindavan, but his mother said, "No, no. Go to Jagannath Puri. Then I can easily get messages from you." Whatever his mother said, Mahaprabhu obeyed. When he was arriving at Jagannath Puri and from a distance saw the flag on top of the temple, Gaura became ecstatic. He ran so swiftly that the devotees who were following couldn't catch up with him. He rushed into the temple of Jagannath. Big, big eyes, no hands, no legs but to Mahaprabhu, Jagannath showed his syamasundara-rūpa, his all-beautiful śyāmam tribhanga-lalita form. The Lord stood there with a bluish-blackish complexion, gracefully bending in three places. Has Jagannath ever shown such a hand-some form, His śyāmasundara-rúpa, to anyone else? No. Never. He only showed it to Gaura. Why did He show His śyāmasundara-rúpa only to Gaura? Mahaprabhu, as the ideal teacher, teaches how one can have darsana o...

22. Prahlada Performed Ratha-yātrā: In the Bhaviṣya Purana it is mentioned that in Satya-yuga Prahlada performed Ratha- yātrā. He put Mahāvişnu on a ratha and dragged it. Then the demigods, siddhas and gandharvas performed Ratha-yātrā. Also, in ancient days in the month of Kartika there was Ratha-yātra of Krsna.  But according to Skanda Purana the date of Ratha-yātrā is fixed. There it is said that the 2nd day of the bright fortnight of the month of Asadha, on the Püşyami Nakşatra, is the day for Ratha-yātrā.  But in ISKCON we may do Ratha-yātrā any time. We do it any time because Śrīla Prabhupāda started that. Why did he do so? Some criticize it. They say the ISKCON devotees don't follow the scripture and that there is a fixed date for Ratha-yäträ. Here in Utkal, Orissa, they cannot do it on any other date. They would face much criticism since the famous Ratha-yātrā in Jagannatha Purī is here and it is performed on the date as is mentioned in Skanda Purana. So they cannot do ...

21. 11 Ceremonies connected with Ratha Yatra: The 11 different ceremonies connected with Lord Jagannatha's Ratha- yatra festival are listed below as Roman numerals I-XI. I. Snana Yatra: Millenia ago, King Indradyumna started the ceremony of bathing (snana- yatra) Lord Jagannatha with 108 pots of sandal-scented well water. At that time, Jagannatha Swami told the king that for 15 days after snana-yatra, no one should see the deities. Snana-yatra occurs on Jyestha Purnima (June full moon), one of the hottest days of the year. Skanda Purana says that Bhagavan Sri Krsna manifested His Daru Brahman form as Jagannatha Swami on this day. Therefore, Jyestha Purnima (Snana Yatra day) is the appearance day of Lord Jagannatha, which is Sri Krsna's mahabhava-prakasa form depicting His devastation in separation from Srimati Rādhikā. Just after sunrise, Balabhadra, Sudarsana, Subhadra and finally Jagannatha are brought in a hopping style procession to the bathing platform located on the north...

20. Notice to Pilgrims Attending Ratha Yatra: The Ratha-yatra procession is a wild jamboree, free for all with 500,000 super zealous devotees.  If you like compression, a stampede or two, and thrill with delight in huge crowds-this is the place for you.  If you want the experience without the crush, then a few days before the procession you can book a peaceful seat on the rooftop of one of the many buildings along the parade route. You should bring an umbrella (for the sun or rain), and try to arrive at your seat by 7 a.m. the morning of Ratha-yatra to avoid the severely congested access streets.  If you prefer to attend a more peaceful festival with far less crowds, then come 10 days later for the return Ratha-yatra (Bahuda-yatra).

19. Instructions for Ratha-yäträ: In the Visnu Dharma it is stated, aşādhasya site pakşe dvitīyā puşya samyutā. In the month of Aşādha, on the second day of the bright fortnight, on the Puşya nakshatra - when the star of Puşya is there, that is the day for Jagannatha Ratha-yätră. This is described in Skanda Purana and also in Vişnu Dharma. That nakşatra does not come every year. If there is no pusyā-naksatra, still Ratha-yātrā should be observed. If the pusya nakşatra is there then it becomes very auspicious. The Ratha-yatra festival should be observed by preparing many varieties of nice palatable sweet food for Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra. One should feed the brahmanas and Vaishnavas. For 7 days the ratha should stay at the Gundica mandira. In the Western world the Gundică mandira may be on the seashore or on the bank of a river. It is also mentioned in Vişnu Dharma that one may keep the cart on the seashore or the bank of a river for 7 days. Perform a festival there, then have...