The fervour of the annual Jagannath rath yatra has begun in Puri. Lakhs of devotees gather in the holy city to pull the three chariots of Lord Jagananth, Lord Balbhadra and Goddess Subhadra from Jagannath to Gundicha temple.
But amidst the excitement is the threat to the festival from extremist groups. The district police have put in place elaborate security which includes the extensive deployment of CCTVs, bomb squads, the Rapid Action Force & 5000 security men.
Reference: Ahmedabad Mirror.com – The residents of Saraspur, the mosal (maternal place) of Lord Jagannath, are all geared up to host one of the biggest religious events in the city — the 134th Rath Yatra. The locality, with a population of about 50,000, has been feeding the devotees accompanying the procession since time immemorial. This year, as the yatra falls on a Sunday, organisers are expecting a huge turnout of devotees.
“Saraspur has an important part to play in the city’s Rath Yatra tradition. When the yatra started, the mahants of both Jagannathji temple and Ranchhodraiji temple were gurubhais – they both were trained by the same guru. Thus began the tradition of the yatra halting at Saraspur for lunch,” Lakshmandasji, mahant of Ranchhodraiji temple said.
There is a mythological story famous about the Jagannath Puri Rath yarta. Once in Dwarka, queens of lord Krishna asked Mata Rohini to tell them something about Krishna’s Brij lila, Gopi and their affairs.
Mother tried avoiding at first, but on excessive request of queens, she told them. Then, Subhadra was asked to stand at the gates to house and not to let anyone come inside. Coincidentally, lord Krishna and Balram came there. Subhadra followed the orders of Rohini and did not let them go in.
Standing on the doors, all the three of them heard the narration of Brij love affairs. Dev Rish Narad also heard this and requested lord to reside here in the same love form. Lord agreed to the wish of Narad. The temple here has the idols of lord Jagannath, Balram and Subhadra.
These idols don’t have legs, they have shoulders but no hands. And, the idols are made of wood. They are replaced in every 12 years. This Rath Yatra is carried on from the 12th century. This yatra is carried up to the Gundicha temple. On the way, lord is offered Khichdi in the Mausima temple.
Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra is started on Dwitiya of Ashad Shukla Paksha, in Orissa. This festival is celebrated for 9 days. This day, Rath of lord Krishna along with Rath of Subhadra and Balram is taken out with full excitement. Rath Yarta is famous all over India.
Jagannath Puri occasion is a famous Hindu festival of Orissa.It is celebrated in Ashad month. In this festival, a ride or Yatra of three God is carried out. On this occasion, the decorated chariot of the 3 deities is pulled to Gundicha temple, situated 2km away from Jagannath temple. And, they are brought back on the 9th day. In the year 2011, this Yatra will be from 3rd July to 12th July.
During this festival, Subhadra, Balram and lord Krishna are worshipped for 9 days. To have a vision of this Rath Yatra, lakhs of devotees gather here. The fame of this Rath Yatra has crossed the boundaries of nation and has gained popularity world wide. The festival of lord Jagannath is celebrated in Puri, situated at the eastern coast of sea in Orissa. God Jagannath is known as the incarnation of lord Vishnu.
Lord Jagannath is praised for these 9 days. According to a mythological belief, Shankracharya established the Govardhan Pith at that place. From ancient time, Puri had a religious and spiritual significance because of the saint and Mahatmas. Monastery of various saints can be seen here.
It is said, in the Treta Yug Rameshwaram Dham was the holy place. In Dwapar Yug, Dwarika was the place of welfare and in Kali Yug it’s Jagannath Puri Dham. It is one of the four main Dhams of India.
Krishna Janmashtami is the festival celebrated to rejoice the birth of Lord Krishna. And Jagannath Puri being dedicated to one of the many forms of Lord Krishna, the festival is celebrated with great fervor here.
The festival is celebrated on the eighth day of the Krishna Paksha in the month of Bhadra according to the Hindu calendar. This day could fall anywhere between the months of August and September of the English calendar.
Dear Readers,
At Yoplr, we will be showcasing and writing about festivals as a theme for this week. To start with, we will be sharing information on festivals at Jagannath Puri – the sacred place for Lord Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra
I hope you will all cherish and relish 
The Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is set to launch a tour special train to Shirdi Dham in Maharashtra in May.
The special train will begin its journey from Lucknow and arrive at Kanpur Central railway station before further proceeding to Shirdi Dham. This will give city people an opportunity to board the special train from Kanpur Central railway station itself.
The six-day tour to Shirdi Dham will leave Lucknow on May 16.
Reference Hinduism Today: Thousands would have passed a dilapidated building on their way to Puri’s Jagannath temple, called Emar Math, not sparing a glance at the 200-year-old structure that on Saturday turned out to be a treasure trove worth US$ 20 million.
Cops, probing a burglary, went into the Math only to find slabs of silver weighing more than 17 tonnes. There were 522 silver slabs, each weighing between 35kg and 40kg. These had been stashed in four wooden treasuries in a sealed room. Emar Math is situated right in front of the Jagannath temple.
Regarding, Shri.Manoj Kumar’s movie “Shirdi Ke Sai Baba”, not many know that the movie was made
because it was Shri.Sathya Sai Baba’s desire for a movie to be made on the Life & Teachings of Shirdi Sai Baba.
And it was Sathya Sai Baba who had sent Shri.Chandulal Shah to meet Shri.Manoj Kumar in this connection.
Thus, the movie was made in just 2 months time flat and for which none of the actors took any money for acting in it, while all the
revenue from it was donated for various charitable organizations. Speaking at Shirdi at the occasion of Ramnavami,
Shri.Manoj Kumar recently had expressed his desire to make a movie on the Life & Teachings of Sathya Sai Baba.
Now, the veteran filmmaker and former MP, Shri.Harirama Jogayya has announced the production of a Telugu devotional film
titled “Sri Sathya Saibaba Mahimalu” that will showcase the Life of the spiritual guru from Puttaparthi.
This Telugu film will depict the transformation of the young boy into an enlightened soul
and how the spiritual guru attracted crores of devotees with simple but profound philosophy.
The film will be factual and will showcase Baba’s life from the beginning to the end.
