Tour to Jagannath Puri Orissa India
Tour to JAGANNATH PURI Orissa India
The city of Puri which is also known as Jagannath Puri is a major city of Easter state of India called Orissa. The city is counted among the seven sacred cities in India along with Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura, Dwarika, Ujjain and Kanchipuram. Rath yatra in puri For the followers of Hindu religion, visit to the city of Puri and visit to the temple of Jagannath is must do list and they wish to fulfil it in their lifetime. At the seashore with broad and vast beach line, Puri attracts pilgrims, tourists, historians and art lovers. Tour to JAGANNATH PURI Orissa India The main attraction of the city is the temple of Lord Jagannath who is considered as the Lord of The Universe. The deity in the temple is present along with his elder brother Balbhadhra and younger sister Subhadra. The temple has been adorned and described by the famous Sanskrit Jayadev in his remarkable masterpiece eulogizing the different incarnations of the lord of the universe.
Puri is a city of faith and devotion and everywhere you see man and women having sandal paste on their foreheads, singing the praise of the lord of the universe. Every year millions of pilgrims visit the holy temple. This temple is unique as the idols of the deities are made of neem tree wood whereas elsewhere in India, the statues are made of marble, granite and metal.These wodden idols are replaced by the new ones every 15 – 20 years. The present idols were installed in the year 2015 to be replaced by the new ones in the uear 2030. The city of Puri has been witnessing remarkable unique religious activity known as Rath Yatra. When according to the hindu calendar month of Ashada, the lord Jagannath with his elder brother Balbhadra and younger sister Subhadra, leave the temple and visit the town promenading the main street of Puri. For this annual charioting every year, new chariots are constructed by the artisans, one month before the actual ceremony date and the chariot of Lord Jagannath is pulled by the devotees singing the religious hymns and playing on with the devotional music. Millions of pilgrims participate in pulling the chariot of Lord Jagannath as it is considered an act which liberates the person from the life and death. It is believed that the lord benedicts the devotees with his divine grace. The religious atmosphere, the touristic attraction with very fine history of East Indian cuisine, Puri is a great point to touch while visiting India to have a better understanding of India. Tour to JAGANNATH PURI Orissa India beautiful experience of my life.
JAGGANTH PURI CHARIOT FESTIVAL
Among the seven holy cities in India which are of great religious significance in Hinduism, Puri or more popularly known as Jagganath Puri is one of these cities and is considered very sacred by the Hindus. Located in the Indian state of Orissa, the city gets it’s name after Lord Jagganth whose temple is located there and is one of the important pilgrimage destinations in India. Another reason why this holy city is visited by thousands of tourists every year is the Chariot festival. This festival known as ‘Ratha Yatra’ in Hindi has been mentioned in several Hindu scriptures and has a great religious significance. During this festival, the idols of Lord Jagganath, his elder brother ‘Balabhadra’ and his younger sister ‘Subhadra’ are
placed on three grand and majestic chariots and are then taken from the Jahgganath Temple to the other part of the town where the Lord rests for a period of 9 days and then the chariots are taken back to the Jagganath Temple. The most remarkable thing about the chariots are that they do not move on any fuel or with the help of any cattle, rather the devotees themselves pull these chariots chanting the holy names of the Lord. The chariots are about 45 ft tall and are so massive that thousands of people pull the chariots with the help of several incredibly big ropes to make the chariots crawl. To have the blessings of the Lord, the devotees engage in this act of pulling the chariot, as it is said that as a devotee pulls the chariot of the Lord using his full power and effort, the Lord similarly pulls out all the miseries and distress out of the devotees’ life. The preparation of this chariots begin on the ‘Akshay Tritiya’ of the Hindu month of ‘Vaisakha’ which according to the English calendar falls during the last week of April or during the first week or March. These chariots are decorated with various designs, colours and paintings are hand built and crafted by thousands of traditional artisans and masons who have been engaged in this chariot – making for centuries since many generations. This year, the Chariot festival will take place on 25th June 2017 and like every year will be celebrated with great enthusiasm and passion.
