The historic Ratha Yatra of Lord Jagannath will commence on Monday in this pilgrim town without the usual sea of devotees and amid tight security in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, COLORS Odia will telecast the Ratha Yatra rituals and people can watch all of them from within the safety of their homes.
COLORS Odia will air several rituals related to this- it will start with Ratha Yatra on 12th July from 7 am onwards, Bahuda Yatra on 20th July from 7 am onwards, Suna Besha on 21st July from 4 pm onwards, and Niladri Bije on 23rd July from 4 pm onwards. Apart from that favorite celebrities will also share their fond memories of Ratha Yatra. This would be the second year in a row that the channel would be airing Ratha Yatra for devotees sitting at home.
Ratha Yatra is an important festival of Hindus that is organized every year at the famous Jagannatha temple in Puri, Odisha. It is one of the oldest ratha yatras in the world. On this day, the idols of Lord Jagannath and his siblings (Goddess Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra) are decorated and brought to cover a 3-km-long journey (from Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple) in chariots drawn by over hundreds of devotees, every year. The significance of the Ratha Yatra is immense for a person, who longs for spiritual merit and final liberation. It is believed that anyone who pulls the rope linked to the chariots of the deities and helps others also in doing so or merely touches the rope or chariots, gets the merit of several penances. All the paraphernalia linked to the Lord Jagannath Ratha Yatra becomes one with the deity himself.
Watch Ratha Yatra, Bahuda Yatra, Sunabesa, and Niladribijay on COLORS Odia from 12th July onwards.
