Rathyatra, Rath means Chariot and Yatra means journey, is an age-old Chariot festival in India. It is a Hindu religious festival associated with Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and their sister Goddess Subhadra. Rathyatra takes place every year in Puri in the state of Odisha. It is also celebrated in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and other parts of India as well as abroad. Rathyatra is the oldest chariot festival in the world. Its reference and description is even found in ancient religious books, like Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, Skanda Purana, and Kapil Samhita which were written thousands of years ago.
Legends behind the Appearances of the Deities
The deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra, unlike the deities of other Gods and Goddesses, found elsewhere in India, are significantly different in appearance. The deities are also made up of wood, cloth, and resin which is a striking difference between the carefully crafted metal idols found in other parts of the country. The complexion of Jagannath is black, the complexion of Balabhadra is white and that of Subhadra is yellow. The legend related to this unique feature of the deities of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra goes like this :
After the death of the mortal body of Sri Krishna, his grief-stricken elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra went to Dwarka Sea carrying his half cremated corpse and had set it afloat. At the same time King Indradyumna of Puri, the king of the Gajapati dynasty, dreamt that Sri Krishna's dead body had floated up on the seashore of his kingdom as a wooden log.
King Indradyumna then prepared a temple to house the log. Then as he was looking for a craftsman to craft the log into an idol, Lord Vishwakarma, God of Architecture, appeared before him as an old carpenter. He agreed to make the idol but on the condition that nobody should disturb him till his work had been finished. Although Indradyumna agreed, as the carpenter did not open the gates of his workshop for weeks, he became impatient and opened the gates. On doing so Vishwakarma disappeared and the king found that the idols were half finished with unfinished hands and legs. So, Indradyumna had to establish the unfinished idols in the temple.
It is still believed that the deities are made from the body of Sri Krishna so after every 12 years when the deities disintegrate, they are rebuilt in the same half-done way with new logs of wood.
This festival is the celebration of Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra's annual visit to their maternal aunt's home.
Importance of Rathyatra for Art and Artists
Rathyatra is one of the largest open-air exhibitions of finest wood crafting, wood architecture, carpentry, and Odiya Pattachitra. This festival is also the preserver of the ancient art of chariot marking. Every year thousands of artists, carpenters, architects, engineers, blacksmiths, tailors get associated with the Rathyatra to showcase their excellence. The idols in the chariots are also accompanied by priests, Sevayats, and graceful Odissi and Gotipua dancers who increase the aesthetics of the journey with their beautiful performances.
Artists also set numerous shops around the temple and sell their products like miniatures of the temple, chariots, Pattachitra paintings, and the idols to the multitude of devotees who flock around every year in Puri during Rathyatra as well as other times of the year. The temple of Lord Jagannath and the Rathyatra festival has kept the artistry of the wood and Pattachitra artists alive by providing a source of livelihood. Rathyatra is not only confined in Odisha but also, is celebrated with equal enthusiasm in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and other eastern states. Miniature one-storied, two-storied chariots made of wood are sold for children in the local markets, huge replicas of the three Raths are also constructed and pulled by temples. For that, the carpenters and wood artists in these areas are also benefited.
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