Puri Ratha Yatra - Way to heaven (Part I)

We started from home around noon after watching the news about the inauguration of Ratha Yatra. This was initiated with a Ganesh pooja and a Shiva pooja. Now, Lord Jagganath is a form of Vishnu, or to be precise a form of his poorna-avatar, Sri Krishna. I was so shocked to hear that Shiva pooja initiates the Ratha Yatra. My cousin, whose house in IIT - Jatani I stayed in, told me that in north (Odisha is in the east but for anyone who comes from the five southern states of India, everything else is north India) it is very common. Down south, there is no question of Shiva and Vishnu deities in the same temple let alone one kick starting the rituals for another. So after watching a shocking news about the commencement of the Ratha Yatra, my cousin, his wife, his little girl and I started towards Puri to meet the Lord Himself and clarify things.

Jagannath Temple at the end of the horizon

We tried to go by train but it was raining heavily and we presumed that given the festival season it would get too crowded. So we took a beautiful one hour ride by car along the open fields of Odisha and Bay of Bengal. Fair warning: Do not take the train to Puri during Ratha Yatra unless there is no other choice. During festive season, you cannot take your vehicle after a certain point in Puri, so we parked our car in a designated parking space and we hired an auto to the Jagannath Temple. The auto driver proudly talked to me about his town's popularity and his favourite God's festival.

View of the road near Gundicha Temple before the procession began

The Ratha Yatra happens every year during the Ashadha month on the lunar calendar. The huge rathas (chariots) are made every year with a specific type of wood for each of the deities. The ratha procession marks the annual visit of Lord Jagannath from Puri Jagannath temple to His aunt's house in Gundicha Temple. It is said that Lord Jagannath falls sick due to all the extravagant food he eats during the year so He visits His aunt with His brother Balaram and sister Subhadra where he will have very simple food for ten days and take rest. The Jagannath temple will be closed during these days until He returns to his abode. Apparently, the devotees too eat very simple food (similar to what Lord Jagannath eats) during these 10 days. The return of the deities in the rathas is celebrated as Bahuda yatra.

Lord Balaram approaching Gundicha Temple

When we reached near Gundicha Temple, it had already poured heavily but fortunately it did not rain much during the procession. We started walking towards Jagannath temple from where the rathas start. As we walked, I could feel that we were getting closer and closer to the crowd. I'd say there were around five to ten lakh devotees on that road, many on the road and a few standing on the terrace of the buildings along the road. As we approached the crowd, I got a little tense and told my sister in law that I didn't really visit her to see the yatra. We saw the ratha from a distance so I wanted to get back home and stay in a cozy place all by myself. The thought of drowning in a huge crowd already choked me. But she was not ready to go back home after reaching all the way there. This was their first time attending Ratha Yatra as they thought their kid was too little to handle the crowd. But my niece was comfortably sitting on my cousin's shoulders so it was I who couldn't handle the crowd.

Volunteers making way for the ratha

Devotee luring Lord Balaram with Drum beats

As we kept walking, Lord Balaram's ratha was slowly moving towards us and the devotees were chanting chorus. The energy and the enthusiasm on that road that day was too much to take. The red and green ratha moved slowly towards the 'Jai Balaram' chanting of the crowd and we tried to move away so that we don't get stamped on and I don't get crushed. If I were going to die on a trip, I'd rather it be in Sikkim in the high altitude serene lake where I would suffocate in low level oxygen not in a crowd of 10 lakh fanatic devotees. People kept pushing us away to get as close to the ratha as possible. My cousin told me that, earlier devotees were allowed to get on top of the ratha too but they restricted getting too close to the ratha these days because people used to get to the top of the ratha and jump in the crowd from there shouting Lord Jagannath's name one last time and get crushed in the stampede. The belief is that, they go straight to heaven. I saw the mad crowd and any thought of going near the ratha to touch the vadam (the rope with which they pull the chariot) vanished then and there. I thought to myself, I'd take my chances in hell. Anyway, after all the pushing and crushing my tiny self in the heavy crowd, the crowd started to move further inside as Lord Balaram moved towards Gundicha Temple. We had a brief moment to breathe and my sister-in-law used that chance to swiftly touch the vadam and get back to us. Out of peer pressure, we three did it too.

One of the ropes used to pull the chariot

The mighty Lord Balaram among his pious devotees

Lord Balaram crawling his way though to his Mausi Ma (aunt) temple

Devotees desperately trying to touch the rope

I am more interested in clicking pictures of the rope first

Jai Balaram

Lord Balaram giving darshan to His devotees in Red and green adorned ratha

At this point, I had no intentions to proceed further. I tried telling my sister-in-law but she was resolved to see Lord Jagannath in chariot. The three of us were holding hands with one another so we wouldn't get lost in the crowd so she pulled me towards her and kept walking to what I could only presume as my fateful suffocation. So the three of us and my niece on top of my cousin's shoulder were led by my sister-in-law, to heaven apparently. There was a twist waiting for us.

Red and Black ratha following Lord Balaram

To be continued...