Ratha Yātrā is the chariot festival of Jagannātha, his elder brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadrā, kept on Āṣāḍha Śukla Dvitīyā and most famously at Puri in Odisha. On this one day the deities leave the temple and ride three great wooden chariots to the Guṇḍicā temple, so that everyone in the street can see them. The festival is remembered for welcoming all devotees at a time when caste barred entry to many temples. The English word 'juggernaut' comes from the crush of devotees around Jagannātha's chariot. How the day is fixed: Ratha Yātrā is kept on the day when Āṣāḍha Śukla Dvitīyā prevails at local sunrise. Keep in mind: In the Tamil calendar the day falls in Āni or Āḍi, and in the Malayalam calendar in Mithunam or Karkkiṭakam. Because the tithi is read at local sunrise, the date can differ by one between places. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Snāna Yātrā and anasara: The cycle begins with Snāna Yātrā on Jyeṣṭha Pūrṇimā, after which the deities rest out of sight for about a fortnight of anasara before the navayauvana darśana. On Dvitīyā they are brought out to the chariots in the pahaṇḍi procession. The three chariots: Jagannātha rides Nandighoṣa, Balabhadra rides Tāladhvaja and Subhadrā rides Darpadalana. After the Gajapati king sweeps the chariots with a golden broom in the chherā pahaṁrā rite, lakhs of devotees pull them about three kilometres, a journey that can take the whole day. At the Guṇḍicā temple: The Guṇḍicā temple is described as the deities' aunt's house or as their birthplace, and they stay there for about a week. On Pañcamī Lakṣmī comes to see them in the Herā Pañcamī rite. Worth remembering: The return journey on Daśamī, called Bahuḍā Yātrā in Odisha and Ulṭo Rath in Bengal, is a separate observance, as is Snāna Yātrā. ISKCON temples and Jagannātha communities worldwide pull smaller chariots on this same tithi. Each region brings its own custom to the day. Bengal fills its lanes with children's toy chariots and rath fairs, with Māhesh in Hooghly among the old centres, while Ahmedabad's procession leaves the Jamalpur temple after the pahind rite and shares a prasāda of mung, jāmun and cucumber. Odisha's villages pull small chariots of their own. Whatever the local form, families do best to follow the practice their own elders have kept.
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