Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra Tour Package 2026

The Magnificent Chariots

The construction of the chariots is a very slow process that starts months before the festival. The chariots are made of a specific type of wood and are coloured and designed beautifully. The chariot of Lord Jagannath, Nandighosa, is the biggest, and Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja and Subhadra’s Darpadalana are smaller. Each chariot has a different set of wheels, colours and decorations which are different from the other and these represent the unique identities of the deities.

Rath Yatra 2026 Dates and Key Rituals

The Rath Yatra 2026 is celebrated over several days and is accompanied by several important rituals, each of which is marked by a unique day:

Snana Purnima : On this day, the deities are taken out from the temple and are given a ceremonial bath with 108 pots of holy water which are fetched from the Golden Well. In this event, the devotees can witness the deities. After the bath, the deities are put on some special costume called ‘Gaja Besha’, i.e. they dress up like elephants.

Anavasara: After Snana Purnima, the deities are placed in isolation for 15 days. It is said that they ‘catch cold’ after the bath and need to be taken care of and made to rest. This period is also a time when the temple is closed to the public and when special herbal treatments are provided to the deities.

Gundicha Marjana On the day before the actual Rath Yatra, the Gundicha Temple is cleaned up and readied for the deities to occupy. This ritual is the way of cleansing the heart to receive the divine.

Rath Yatra : The main event! The deities are taken out in a big procession (Pahandi) and put on their chariots. Then, the grand procession begins. The chariots are pulled by thousands of devotees along the Bada Danda, or the Grand Road, to the Gundicha Temple, which is approximately three kilometers. This act of pulling the chariots is said to erase sin and bring blessings. When the deities are on their chariots, the King of Puri performs the ‘Chhera Panhara’ ritual, in which he sweeps the chariot platforms with a golden broom. This means that God has no prejudice against anyone.

Hera Panchami : On the fifth day of the deities’ stay at Gundicha Temple, people believe that Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Jagannath, visits him. Hera Panchami is the tradition of Goddess Lakshmi’s search for her husband and a playful game between the representatives of the deities.

Sandhya Darshan : It is believed that the viewing of the deities at the Gundicha Temple in the evening is of supreme importance. According to the literature, it is as if one has seen the deities for ten years at the main temple if one has seen them at this temple.