8. Ratha Yatra Chariots

8. Ratha Yatra Chariots:

Surprisingly, these gigantic carts are rebuilt every year. Carpenters work on the Grand Road near the temple for 2 months preceding the festival, meticulously building each cart in the same way year after year. The chariot designs and decorations follow ancient traditions passed down from father to son. The old carts are used for cooking Jagannatha Swami's daily bhoga. The kalasa (pots above the canopies), the wooden charioteer drivers (sarathi), horses and 14 deities arrayed around the carts are only remade every 12 or 19 years when new Jagannatha deities are prepared. To make the 3 chariots, 125 carpenters (hereditary craftsmen), spend 58 days carving 2,188 pieces of wood. 

Each chariot is divided into three parts: 

1. Wheels and axles

2. Wheels to floor where the deities sit

3. Floor to canopy and kalasa

Each chariot is pulled by 4 stout ropes of 4 inch diameter and 250 ft. length.

Each deity has a separate cart with a particular name and set of characteristics.

Nandighosa or Chakradhvaja: 

This is the name of Jagannatha's chariot which flies the flag of Garuda holding a snake in its beak. The cloth canopy is yellow and red. The chariot is made of 832 wooden parts, all fitting without nails, but sometimes iron clamps are inserted for reinforcement. 

Jagannatha's cart is 45 feet high and weighs about 65 tons. It has 16 wheels, each with 16 spokes, and a central altar with 4 openings decorated with numerous wooden figures. 

Carrying an image of Garuda (guard of the chariot) on its crest, this cart is drawn by 4 white- colored wooden horses. Sarathi of the chariot is Daruka.

Taladhvaja: 

This is the name of Balabhadra's chariot which flies the emblem of a ploughshare (hala) on its flag. The canopy is green and red. The guard for this chariot is Vasudeva. Sarathi is Matali.

Baladeva's cart has 14 wheels with 14 spokes each. It carries Hanuman on its crest, and is drawn by 4 black wooden horses.

Padmadhvaja: 

This is one of the 3 names (Devadalana, Deviratha or Padmadhvaja) of Subhadra's chariot which flies a flag with a lotus flower. It has 4 red wooden horses. It has 12 wheels, each with 12 spokes. A black and red canopy shields Subhadra and Sudarsana who ride on this cart. The guard for this chariot is Jayadurga. Sarathi is Arjuna.

Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes the Ratha-yatra cart thus: 

"Lord Jagannatha's chariot appeared to be newly made of gold and it was as high as Mt. Sumeru. It was gorgeously decorated with bright mirrors and hundreds and hundreds of camara fans. There was a neat and clean canopy and a very beautiful flag on the top of the cart. Silken cloth and wood carvings of various gods and goddesses also beautified the chariot. Many brass bells, gongs and other bells rang attractively." (Cc. 2.13.13-21)

Damaged Chariots:

"Jaimini Rsi said, 

''If the steering mechanism of the chariot is broken, the brahmins will suffer; if the axle breaks, ksatriyas will suffer; if the balance beam breaks, vaisyas will suffer; if the yoke pin breaks, sudras will suffer. If the flag topples from the cart, the state administration will change, and if the chariot itself is damaged, the entire state will suffer." (Skanda Purana)