Jagannath Rath Yatra 2024: 3 Secrets of Lord Jagannath ?, Written By-Dr.Rashmi Vajpayee,

      Image Courtesy: Twitter

Rath Yatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannath is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple in Odisha, on the eastern shore of Bay of Bengal, India. The Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra, which is acknowledged as one of India's greatest chariot celebrations was estimated to begin from 7th July, 2024, Sunday.

1)Temple is closed for fifteen days?

         Image Credit: Facebook 

The temple doors of Jagannath Puri are shut every year for fifteen days. This is on the grounds that Lord Jagannath becomes sick for fifteen days before the beginning of the Rath Yatra. Throughout this period Lord Jagannath is aided by his devotees. He is provided several Ayurvedic herbs, healing pastes, etc. At the point when he heals perfectly, the celebration is started. Therefore we can assume that Lord Jagannath has healed now and consequently, the carnival has commenced from 20th June, 2023, Tuesday.

When there's a global disaster of COVID-19, every citizen would be required to practice self-control to defeat COVID-19, which has now converted into a worldwide epidemic. And during such a period of trauma, we should follow the footsteps of Shri Krishna, who is isolated for fourteen days every year. Lord Jagannath of the famous Puri temple, falls ill before the Rath Yatra and is quarantined for fourteen days.

This tradition has been practiced for centuries. It is believed that Lord Jagannath gets a fever and cold. Therefore, he separates himself for fourteen days, and this custom is called Anasar. Throughout this time, the devotees can't see him because the god is taken to the Anasar Ghar or the quarantine ward.

2) The Idols of the Jagannath Temple are Unfinished?

The incredible story of Jagannath`s creation is referenced in the `Skanda Purana`, `Brahma Purana`, and other Puranas and numerous ancient texts of Hindu Mythology. The tale of the construction of the Jagannath temple is very interesting. King Indradvimuna living in the eastern region of India had a dream of constructing a temple. As per the dream, the king was asked to fabricate the icons of Krishna, Balram, and Subhadra with a bit of Neem wood that would be found at the beach.

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True to the prediction, the King found the neem wood at the coastline and prayed Lord Vishwakarma, the heavenly bricklayer, to create the Jagannath icon.

Vishwakarma accepted the offer yet put one condition, that no one ought to disturb him or take a look until he had wrapped up his work. The King agreed to obey his commands and Vishwakarma started forming the Jagannath icon. Meanwhile, the King could not resist taking a look at Vishwakarma`s craft out of curiosity. The icon was still unfinished and Vishwakarma was enraged.

At that moment everything except the arms of the idols was done. Vishwakarma angered at the King`s daring, disappeared without finishing his task. Thus, the King found Lord Jagannath with his half-done arms, his brother Balrama and sister Subhadra. Because of this, the icons of the Jagannath temple could never be finished. But as per the directions of God, the three divinities were established in the temple of Puri. 

 3)  Lord Jagannath took his Devotee's illness upon himself?

      Image Courtesy: Twitter

There is a legend that goes behind this. Once there was a believer of Lord Jagannath his name was Madhavdas. The only companion he could see around was Lord Jagannath. Thus, Lord Jagannath was all he had in his life. One day, Madhavdas fell seriously sick. His health was getting more critical every day. Stressed over the consistently worsening state of Madhavdas, Lord Jagannath appeared to him as a man. Lord Jagannath asked about his bad health and decided to nurse him.

 Madhavdas recognizes that the Lord himself had appeared to see him. He was shocked to experience that rather than take care of him, the lord could instantly remove his disease. Lord Jagannath further stated to Madhavdas that his fifteen days of illness are remaining and requested Madhavdas to transfer his remaining days of suffering.

           Image Courtesy:facebook

In this way, fifteen days earlier to the festival of Jagannath Puri Yatra, Lord Jagannath falls sick and the doors of the temple stay shut. When he recovers eventually, the doors are opened and the Yatra starts. 

Devotees from the entire world come to see Lord Jagannath and experience the Yatra. We should take inspiration from the Lord that if he can remain isolated for fourteen days, we too can.

     

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About Rashmi Vajpayee

Hello friends I am DrRashmi Vajpayee,PhD Awardee,Assistant professor and founder of Rashmi Vajpayee's Confessions on Culture.Here I share everything about Indian Culture and Festivals.I hope you guys enjoy my content so keep reading!.

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