Friday, 27 June 2025 [Mayapura, West Bengal, India Time]
Rath Yatra – The Festival of Chariots
# Ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannath is world famous. This article talks about Ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannatha, its history, significance and so on as explained by Srila Prabhupada.
# Ratha Yatra (Festival of Chariots) is one of the world’s oldest religious festivals, originally celebrated in Jagannath Puri. By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada this festival is now being celebrated all over the world. In the summer of 1967, the city of San Francisco saw the Western world’s first Ratha Yatra. Many other swamis and yogis journeyed to the West in the past, but none of them had the vision of Srila Prabhupada: ‘to establish the Krishna conscious culture of ancient India without watering it down.’ Srila Prabhupada introduced Lord Jagannatha to the Western world and also inaugurated the Ratha Yatra ceremony, in its original format. Jayananda dasa, one of Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples, took an active part in making it a success. For each of the first four Ratha Yatras, he built the chariots from the ground up.
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‘In the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa it is said: “A person who sees the Lord’s Ratha-yātrā car festival and then stands up to receive the Lord can purge all kinds of sinful results from his body.” A similar statement is there in the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, in which it is said: ” A person who follows the Ratha-yātrā car when the Rathas [Deities] pass in front or from behind, even if born of a lowly family, will surely be elevated to the position of achieving equal opulence with Viṣṇu.’
(Excerpts From The Nectar of Devotion – 1970 > Chapter 9 > Bowing Down and Standing Up in Honor of the Deity)
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Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra
Śrīla Prabhupāda: “Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared five hundred years ago, and He introduced this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. This Ratha-yātrā is one of the item of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Jagannātha . . . just try to understand Jagannātha. Jagat means the moving world. Gacchati iti jagat, Sanskrit word, gacchati means which is moving. So all these planets, this universe, even the sun, everything is moving, as we are moving. We are, of course, animate. Even inanimate things are moving. Your motorcar moving, your machine is moving, but they are moving under the control of some animate object.
But animate objects moving, some of the animate objects are standstill, just like trees, but ultimately they are also moving in this sense: that one species of life is being transmigrated to another species of life. Therefore it is called jagat. Jagat means moving. And Jagat-nātha, nātha means the proprietor—master, proprietor.
So Jagannātha means the proprietor or the master of all these movements, He is Jagannātha. And Balabhadra, Balarāma, bala means strength, and rāma means enjoyment. So Balarāma means who gives you spiritual strength for enjoying eternal blissful life. He is Balarāma. And Subhadrā, su means auspicious, and bhadra means well-being. Subhadrā, Jagannātha and Balarāma combined together are present before you to reclaim you all from your miserable condition of life. That is the purport of this Ratha-yātrā Festival. Ratha-yā . . . (break) . . . if anyone sees on the car Jagannātha, Subhadrā and Baladeva, then he does not take birth again in this material world. Ratheja vamanaṁ dṛṣṭa. […]”
So in this material world we are part and parcel of God, Jagannātha, and we are under the auspicious protection of Subhadrā, and we have got, I mean to say, implicitly the spiritual strength. In the Vedic literature you will find, nāyam ātmā bala-hīnena labhyo (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.2.4). Bala, bala means this Balarāma, the spiritual strength. The spiritual realization can be achieved by the grace of Lord Balarāma.”
(Excerpts From Lecture on Ratha-yatra — San Francisco, July 5, 1970)
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Śrīla Prabhupāda: “This Ratha-yātrā festival is very old—at least for 5,000 years. Lord Kṛṣṇa along with His elder brother Balabhadra, or Balarāma, and His sister Subhadrā came in a chariot from Dvārakā to Kurukṣetra. We are commemorating this arrival of Lord Kṛṣṇa with His family on this chariot. This function is held in Jagannātha Purī. Mostly you know, in India it is a great festival. And we are introducing this festival in the Western countries along with Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, because the original progenitor of this Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, namely Lord Caitanya, He took very much active part in this Ratha-yātrā festival.
So following His footsteps, we are also introducing this Ratha-yātrā festival in the Western countries. Simultaneously as it is being observed in London, it is being held in San Francisco, Buffalo and . . .
Devotees: Melbourne, Tokyo.
Prabhupāda: Melbourne, Tokyo and many other places. And India also, in Calcutta also. So this festival, taking part in these festivals, means a step forward for our self-realization. Rathe ca vāmanaṁ dṛṣṭvā punar janma na vidyate. Simply by seeing the Lord on the chariot, one makes advancement for stopping the repetition of birth and death.
So I am very glad that you have taken so much trouble to come here. Now you will chant Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra along with the devotees and take part in honoring the prasādam. The prasādam is also one of the program. Our Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is standing on three principal things: chanting, dancing and eating prasādam. It is not very difficult. It is very enjoyable to chant, dance and take prasādam. And if you like, you can hear a little philosophy of this movement.
Or even if you do not understand the philosophy, even you do not read the books, simply if you take part in these three things, chanting, dancing and taking part in eating the prasādam, your life will gradually progress in spiritual advancement of life. And if you continue this, then some day will come, even in this life it may come, that you will understand what is Kṛṣṇa. And as soon as you understand Kṛṣṇa, then after leaving this body you go back to home, back to Godhead, directly. This is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. Those who have read Bhagavad-gītā, Lord Kṛṣṇa says:
janma karma me divyaṁ
yo jānāti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti kaunteya
(BG 4.9)
Simply by understanding Kṛṣṇa, janma karma . . . Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance, Kṛṣṇa’s activities . . . this Ratha-yātrā is one of the activities of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore to take part in the Ratha-yātrā festival means to associate with Kṛṣṇa directly.”
(Excerpts From Lecture on Ratha-yatra — London, July 13, 1972)
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Srila Prabhupada: “Here you see Jagannātha and Balarāma and Subhadrā. They are Kṛṣṇa and His elder brother and His sister, Subhadrā. There is a place in India about ninety miles north of Delhi. You have heard the name of New Delhi. The place is named Kurukṣetra. It is accepted as the holy place, pilgrimage. People still gather there, especially during the eclipse, solar and lunar eclipse. So there was once, five thousand years ago, there was a solar eclipse, and all people, from all parts of India, they came to Kurukṣetra. And Kṛṣṇa, at that time was prince at Dvārakā, He also came with His elder brother and sister. Kṛṣṇa in His childhood, He was raised as the foster son of Mahārāja Nanda and Mother Yaśodā in Vṛndāvana. Then, when He was grown up . . . You will find this history in the Kṛṣṇa book. So the incidence is that Kṛṣṇa was the beloved personality in Vṛndāvana. So when He left Vṛndāvana, all the people there, they were very, very unhappy. So when Kṛṣṇa came to Kurukṣetra from Dvārakā with His brother and sister, these people in Vṛndāvana, they got news that Kṛṣṇa is coming there. Vṛndāvana is about the same distance. Kurukṣetra is greater distance. Anyway, they came to see Kṛṣṇa out of their love. And the most beloved personality, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, She was requesting Kṛṣṇa that “You are the same Kṛṣṇa. I am the same Rādhārāṇī. But the place is not the same. You are here in Kurukṣetra in royal opulence, and we are coming from the village. So if You again please come to Vṛndāvana.” This was Rādhārāṇī’s request. And it is very ecstatic feeling. Those who are advanced devotee, they can enjoy.
So we observe this incidence annually in as many places in the Western countries. At the present moment we hold this ceremony in London, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and . . . Where else? Buffalo, Melbourne, yes. So this is a very feeling festival. So I thank you very much. You have come here. And try to understand our philosophy. You are all educated boys and girls. We have got fifty-seven books. Try to read, and try to understand. And take it very seriously, and you will be happy.
Thank you very much.”
(Excerpts From Lecture on Ratha-yatra — Philadelphia, July 12, 1975)
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Srila Prabhupāda: ” . . . observed five thousand years ago at Kurukṣetra. In India there is still that place, Kurukṣetra, and religious men go there especially on the occasion of solar eclipse. So recently there was solar eclipse. Still many millions of Indian population gathered there. Those who have gone to India might have seen this holy place, Kurukṣetra. There is a railway station also of the name Kurukṣetra, and it is a vast field. The Battle of Kurukṣetra took place also during Lord Kṛṣṇa’s time, and the Bhagavad-gītā is the product in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. So this ceremony . . . Kṛṣṇa, with His elder brother Balarāma and His younger sister Subhadrā, visited in this chariot at Kurukṣetra, and we are observing this festival. Formerly, one king of the name Indradyumna, he started the temple of Jagannātha in Orissa at Purī. Perhaps some of you who have gone there, they know there is a very, very old temple, according to modern calculation, not less than two thousand years old. There is the Jagannātha Deity. The King was very much anxious to establish a temple of Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Subhadrā, but there was a contract between the sculptor and the King that the sculptor would go on working in closed door, and the King should not disturb him. But when many days passed the King felt, “What this worker is doing?” So he forcefully opened the door, and he saw that the sculptor could not finish the Deity. So this form of Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Subhadrā, was unfinished. They were going under construction, carving, but the King forcibly opened the door. Therefore the King said, “I shall worship this unfinished Deity. Never mind.” So this Jagannātha you see in this form because King Indradyumna wanted to worship Him in that form”
(Excerpts From Lecture on Ratha-yatra — New York, July 18, 1976)
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Śrīla Prabhupāda: “So this Ratha-yātrā Festival is a mass movement for enlightening people to this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We have got many other festivities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. We have got Janmāṣṭamī, Śrī Rāma-navamī, Dola-yātrā, Jhulana-yātrā. So there are twelve months, but we have got twenty-four festivals big as . . . as big as this Ratha-yātrā Festival. So if you kindly take to them, then as advised by Lord Caitanya, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ (CC Adi 17.31), you will always be in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and there will be no scope of your frustration and confusion.
For this purpose especially I came in this meeting, that you kindly accept this, I mean to say, humble instruction that wherever you may be, in whatever position, in whatever condition, you kindly chant these sixteen names (everyone chants), Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Chant again: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Again: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.
Thank you very much.”
(Excerpts From Lecture on Ratha-yatra — San Francisco, July 5, 1970)
