20. Notice to Pilgrims Attending Ratha Yatra

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).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

23. Patita Pavana Darshan

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...
Read more

24. Wonderfully Merciful

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...
Read more

21. 11 Ceremonies connected with Ratha Yatra

Image
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...
Read more