Simply by seeing the lord on the chariot, one makes advancement for stopping the repetition of birth and death.
(Prabhupad Lecture: - London July 13th, 1972)
Jagannath Ratha yatra is a very big famous festival worldwide. This is the festival of chariots, is celebrated originally in Jagannathan Puri (Odisha) from time immemorial. In Puri lord Jagannathan is worshipped with his elder brother Baldev and his sister Subhadra. Their lordship come out on the road and rides on their chariots to bless the citizens. Thousands of people pull the roop of the Ratha and take from Srimandira to Gundicha temple. It’s a similar concept of Krishna Balram’s returning from Kurukshetra to Vrindavan on Ratha which was pulled by Vraja Gopis.
Prabhupada said, “if you participate in these chariot festivals and see the deities riding on these chariots, you will go back home, back to godhead at the end of this life.”
When Srila Prabhupad was six years old, Gaur Mohan Dey (his father) arranged for a small Ratha and young Abhay (later known as Prabhupad) would perform Ratha yatra in his neighbour and distribution prasadam to all the children, who taking part in the festival.
Srila Prabhupada (who introduced the life of Krishna consciousness in the western world) had a great ambition to celebrate this festival gorgeously in every city of the world and he inspired and guided his disciples to make this annual festival well known in every part of the world. The first-ever Ratha-Yatra in the western world was organized in san Francisco on July 9, 1967. Thereafter, this festival became popular in western world and spread to many other countries.
Following the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada ISKCON Vrindavan give the opportunity to everyone in the locality to pull the Ratha. this year we celebrate the Ratha yatra of sri sri Jagannathan, Baldev and Subhadra maharani in Mathura city (Krishna’s birth place) on July 20th 2023, Tuesday.
The programs as follow
Arrival of Devotees - 08:00 AM
Welcoming of lord Jagannathan - 09:00 AM
Breakfast Prasadam (Radha Orchid) - 09:30 AM
Arrival of Guests - 12:00 Noon
Chappan Bhoga Offering - 12:15 PM
Maha Aarti of Lord Jagannath - 12:30 PM
Ratha Yatra Begins - 01:15 PM
Ratha Arrival - 06:00 PM
Dinner Prasadam (Mukund Utsav) - 06:00 PM
The chariot is decorated with a colourful display of flowers and covered in distinctly coloured cloths. Ratha yatra begins with a huge fanfare of conches, mridang, drums and cymbals, accompanied by kirtan, prasad distribution and various types of cultural Programs, Thousands of devotees pull the chariot, offer their prayers and aarti and part take the prasadam being distributed, all along the route of the Ratha yatra. The Ratha yatra will start from Radha orchid, Saraswathi Kund, Om Nagar, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh 281003.