How to Identify the Ratha or Chariot of Lord Jagannath in Puri Rath Yatra

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How to Identify the Ratha or Chariot of Lord Jagannath in Puri Rath Yatra

 

http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/06/how-to-identify-ratha-or-chariot-of.html

 

In Puri Rath Yatra, there are three chariots (Ratha) that are pulled from <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Puri</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Jagannath</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Temple </st1:placetype></st1:place>through the Bada Danda, the grand road, to Gundicha Mandir. The three chariots belong to Lord Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra. But how do the devotees know which one belongs to Jagannath.

The easiest way to identify the Rath, or Chariot, of Lord Jagannath is by color of the covering of the chariot. The chariot of Jagannath has a yellow and red color canopy and it is also the largest of the chariots.

Jagannatha’s chariot is known as Nandighosh and it has 16 wheels. It also prominently displays the Sudarshana Chakra emblem.

The guardian deity of the chariot is Garuda and the charioteer is known as Daruka.

The flag on the chariot is known as Trailokyamohini.

The rope that is used to pull is known as Shankahchuda.

Along with Jagannath, the chariot also has the idols of Hanuman, Rama, Lakshman, Narayan, <st1:place st="on">Krishna</st1:place>, Govardhan Dharana, Chintamani, Raghav and Narasimha.

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The size and other details of the Puri Rathas

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Rath Yatra takes heavy toll on Odisha forests

http://www.kalingatimes.com/orissa_news/news3/20080613_Rath_Yatra_takes_heavy_toll_on_Odisha_forests.htm

 

 

 

<table class="content" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr> <td height="10" valign="top" width="52%">By Panchanan Sahu

Puri (Odisha), June 13: Come July 4 next, the pilgrim city of Puri will witness one of the grandest spectacles on earth with several lakh devotees thronging this seaside town to witness the famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath.

But hardly any one of them is aware that observance of the annual car festival of the presiding deities of the 12th century shrine, which has become an integral part of the socio-cultural milieu of the people with the occasion being observed as the state festival, puts immense pressure on the forests of Odisha.

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It is no secret that several forest blocks have vanished while meeting the requirement of wood for construction of the chariots in the past. “The car festival will prove to be an environmental nightmare for the state in the long run,” an environmentalist cautions.

The temple administration needs huge quantities of wood for the annual car festival and other rituals associated with the festival.

However, nature lovers and environmentalists view this practice as a vicious circle of conspicuous ecological consumption.

The temple authorities are facing problems in timber procurement since 1996-97. The issue has been discussed in several meetings including possible reuse of at least some of the valuable timber.

The Puri Car Festival Code, 1983 requires the state government to provide the needed timber free of cost. Each year the forests under Khurda and Nayagarh divisions are being combed to identify the trees of desired dimensions and species.

The Sri Jagannath temple records shed no light as to exactly when this pilgrim city hosted the first car festival though it s believed to be several centuries old.

Three colorfully decorated majestic wooden chariots – the red and yellow Nandighosh of Lord Jagannath, the red and green Taladhwaj of elder brother Lord Balabhadra and the red and black Devadalan of their sister Devi Subhadra roll on the Grand Road amidst chanting of hymns and beating of cymbals by the devotees.

The presiding deities of the shrine are ceremonially taken out of the sanctum sanatorium on a nine day sojourn to the Gundicha temple, a little over two km down the Grand Road . They return in the same fashion on return car festival known as Bahuda Yatra.

However, after the car festival is over, the gigantic chariots are dismantled to be used in the kitchen of the temple for preparation of the holy food for the deities known as Mahaprasad.

The wood were earlier auctioned and sold to the devotees for raising revenue of the temple. But the practice has been stopped since last four years, according to Binod Behary Mohanty, Administrator, in-charge of rituals.

The three chariots, 44-feet high Nandighosh with 16 wheels, 43 feet high Taladhwaj with 14 wheels and the 42 feet Devadalan with 12 wheels, need 1,135 big logs of about 400 cubic metre of timber including Phasi, Asana, Dharua, Simili, Mahalima, Kadamba, Moi, Kalachua, Paldhua, Devadaru etc. Nearly 1,000 trees are felled every year for construction of the chariots.

As suitable Phasi trees grow only in highly localised sites in riparian zones, a question mark has appeared over sustained supply of timber for the chariots from these forests unless systematic efforts were made address the problem.

The Nayagarh forest division provides 865 pieces of logs while the Khurda forest division supplies 270 pieces of logs, Laxmidhar Pujapanda, PRO of the temple administration says.

However, exuding confidence, Sudarsan Behera, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Nayagarh says that both Khurda and Nayagarh forests are virgin. Hence there should not be any problem at least for next 40 to 50 years.

Besides, awareness has been created among the people in Nayagarh district for raising trees for chariot making. Many people are coming forward to donate their trees for the purpose. The donors are invited to the pilgrim city as the guests of the temple administration where they are felicitated, Behera says.

Altogether 49 persons had donated wood for chariot making this year. They were felicitated by the state government and temple administration recently.

While the wood from the three chariots is used for preparation of Kothabhaga offered to the deities by the state government, Supakar Sevaks arrange the wood, basically casuarinas, for cooking the Mahaprasad, Mohanty says.

The cycle of wood consumption does not stop at the chariots or requirement in the kitchen. The potters in the temple town require two to three tonnes of firewood every day for making the earthen pots being used for preparation and distribution of the Mahaprasad.

Huge quantity of sandal wood is also required for performance of rituals in the temple which is purchased from Salem in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, keeping in view the huge requirement of sandal wood, the state government is contemplating to raise sandal trees in the forests in Koraput district where the climate is conducive, official sources say.

Jagannath Bastia, noted environmentalist says that recommendations have been made in the past to construct the chariots fitted with nuts and bolts so that the wood can be re-used. But the same has not been implemented keeping in view the religious sentiment and the age-old tradition that old logs should not be used. The state government should initiate measures to save the forests from being denuded, he says.

However, votaries of the Jagannath cult oppose any such move stating any move to re-use the wood will be against the Sri Jagannath temple scriptures”.

Rath Yatra is always identified with Puri. Organisers of Rath Yatra in other places including foreign countries use steel frames or tyre wheels. But in Puri things are totally different, a scholar in Jagannath cult says.

However, he says, unless the people and the government realise the importance of raising forests or plant trees needed for the chariots, a situation may arise when wood will not be available for chariot making.

In a bid to ease the problem of procurement of timber for construction of chariots, the Orissa government had launched the Sri Jagannath Bana Prakalpa in 2000. The plantation work had been completed in 2004. However, it will take about 40 years for the saplings to become full grown trees in the project area.

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