There are many who don\u2019t know that the Lord Jagannath of the Jagannath Yatra fame is actually a form of Krishna. And that he is flanked by his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. So essentially it\u2019s a celebration of the siblings going for a nice chariot round to his birthplace Gundicha and his aunt\u2019s home. This is what the festival is all about, sounds simple, it\u2019s not so. The festival is loaded with immense significance and that\u2019s what draws lakhs to Puri during this time. This year it starts on July 14th and ends on July 26. It is mainly celebrated at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha. The capital of Odisha is Bhubaneshwar and Puri is under two hours from there.<\/p>\n
There is a special ritual associated with the idols of Lord Jagannatha. Since the idols are made of wood, it needs to be replaced. The replacing doesn\u2019t happen in a random fashion. It is done once every 9 to 10 years. There is a specific ritual associated with the replacement of the idols. It is called the Nabakalebara ritual. The literal translation is being a new body. The last time the ritual was done was in 2015.<\/p>\n
Mind you, the idols are not made of just any wood. Neem wood is used for this and not just any neem wood. Apparently, the neem tree has to fulfill certain criteria, like it has to have x number of branches, colour and even the location of the tree is significant. Even the sourcing of the tree is a journey, it\u2019s called the Banajag Yatra. An army of priests, helpers and carpenters go on the journey to find the right tree.<\/p>\n
Once the new idols are created the old ones are buried in a secret ceremony. The Govt of Odisha declares a power cut when the ritual of burying the old deities is carried out. Legend has it that the person witnessing the ritual dies. Even when the new idols are placed in the temple, the ritual of transferring the energies from the old idol to the new is shrouded in secrecy, even the priest performing the ritual is blindfolded. The significance of the old and the new idols stand for destruction and reincarnation. An age-old Hindu belief.<\/p>\n
The three mammoth chariots meant to take the idols around during the festival are made in a very detailed yet public process. It\u2019s done in front of the royal palace, it is said that one family of carpenters have been carrying on the task of building the chariots for generations.<\/p>\n
Rath Yatra 2018<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Sri Gundicha:<\/strong> July 14.<\/strong> Placing of the deities in the chariots (rath) and the rath yatra (journey) to Gundicha temple.<\/p>\n \u2022 Hera Panchami:<\/strong> July 17.<\/strong> The irate consort of Lord Jagannatha, Goddess Lakshmi, is miffed that she isn\u2019t a part of the journey and she sets out to Gundicha temple to find out about him.<\/p>\n \u2022 Bahuda Yatra:<\/strong> July 22.<\/strong> The retreat of the chariots to Lion\u2019s Gate entrance of Jagannath Temple. The chariots move in reverse.<\/p>\n \u2022 Suna Besha:<\/strong> July 23.<\/strong> Adorning of the deities with gold jewellery. A popular ritual.<\/p>\n \u2022 Adhara Pana:<\/strong> July 24.<\/strong> The ritual of offering a special health drink to the gods.<\/p>\n \u2022 Niladri Bijay:<\/strong> July 26.<\/strong> Placing the deities back in the temple.<\/p>\n Mahaprasad is the food offered to the gods during the Rath Yatra. It is the \u2018chhappan bhog\u2019 or 56 dish meal. Of which some are particularly significant. Podha Pitha is said to be Lord Jagannath\u2019s favourite delicacy. Apparently, he has a sweet tooth, so desserts are an important part of the 56 dishes. There has long been a debate on the origins of the rasgulla, while the Bengalis claim it as their own, Odiyas say its origins are in Odisha. Debate or no debate what is served in the Mahaprasad is a richer and darker version of the rasgulla called Khir Mohan. Khaja a deep fried sweet is another specialty. It is one of the iconic sweets of the region. Then there is the heavenly khichdi, delicious dal dholma, and the fermented rice dish. It is said that the temple kitchens cook to feed 100,000 devotees. Everyone who comes there, eats. Other than the temple food, Odisha is full of amazing food joints. But that is another story altogether!<\/p>\n\n\n Dubai Visa Online<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a014 days Dubai Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a030 days Dubai Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a060 days Dubai Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Dubai Transit Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0UAE Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Singapore Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Malaysia Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Thailand Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Sri Lanka Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0US Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0UK Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Schengen Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Canada Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Australia Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0New Zealand Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0France Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Italy Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Turkey Visa Online<\/a>\u00a0| \u00a0Philippines Visa<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Cambodia Visa Online<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Vietnam Visa Online<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Oman Visa<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dubai Tour Packages<\/a> | Singapore Tour Packages<\/a> | Thailand Tour Packages<\/a> | Malaysia Tour Packages<\/a> | Sri Lanka Tour Packages<\/a> | US Tour Packages<\/a> | United Kingdom Tour Packages<\/a> | South Africa Tour Packages<\/a> | Europe Tour Packages<\/a> | Bali Tour Packages<\/a> | Mauritius Tour Packages<\/a> | Maldives Tour Packages<\/a> | Cordelia Cruise Packages<\/a> |<\/p>\n\n\n\n India Tour Packages<\/a> | Goa Tour Packages<\/a> | Kerala Tour Packages<\/a> | Leh Ladakh Tour Packages<\/a> | Himachal Tour Packages<\/a> | Andaman Tour Packages<\/a> | Rajasthan Tour Packages<\/a> | Uttarakhand Tour Packages<\/a> | Jammu and Kashmir Tour Packages<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Honeymoon Packages<\/a> | Adventure Packages<\/a> | Visa on Arrival Packages<\/a> | Family Packages<\/a> | Romantic Packages<\/a> | Weekend Getaways Packages<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pune Bangalore Flights<\/a> | Chennai Delhi Flights<\/a> | Bangalore Chennai Flights<\/a> | Mumbai Delhi Flights<\/a> | Bangalore Hyderabad Flights<\/a> | Ahmedabad Goa Flights<\/a> | Mumbai Kolkata Flights<\/a> | Hyderabad Delhi Flights<\/a> | Bangalore Goa Flights<\/a> | Mumbai Goa Flights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Delhi Dubai Flights<\/a> | Delhi Bangkok Flights<\/a> | Delhi Toronto\nFlights<\/a> | Mumbai Dubai Flights<\/a> | Delhi Singapore Flights<\/a> |Delhi London Flights<\/a> | Delhi Kathmandu Flights<\/a> | Mumbai London Flights<\/a> | Chennai Singapore Flights<\/a> | Mumbai Singapore Flights<\/a> | Delhi New York Flights<\/a> |Kolkata Bangkok Flights<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are many who don\u2019t know that the Lord Jagannath of the Jagannath Yatra fame is actually a form of Krishna. And that he is flanked by his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. So essentially it\u2019s a celebration of the siblings going for a nice chariot round to his birthplace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-festivals-events"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFood Of The Gods<\/h3>\n
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