Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, 1 JULY: After a lull of two years due to a pandemic situation, the annual grand Ratha Yatra at Rajapur of Iskcon, Mayapur in Nadia was celebrated with much fanfare and grandeur this year today.
Thousands of devotees from across the state pulled decked-up chariots of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra amid chants of “Hare Krishna”.
At Rajapur temple of ISKCON, the Rath Yatra festival started amidst tight security and fanfare. Calcutta High Court judge Koushik Chanda performed a symbolic ritual of cleaning the way for the chariots using a golden broom. This apart, the state’s minister for correctional administration, Ujjal Biswas, Nabadwip legislative member Pundarikakshya Saha, the district Magistrate, Shashank Sethi and SP, Krishnagar PD, Ishani Paul took part in the inaugural programme of the grand festival.
The procession featured congregational chanting (sankirtan), dance and musical performances by the devotees. Further, accompanying the chariots, devotees played drums, tambourines, trumpets, cymbals. Along the way, the deities were showered with flowers and offered fruits, sweets like payash, khaja and other delicacies, said Iskcon spokesperson, Ramesh Das.
The idols of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra seated on three different carts taken out in a grand procession from the ISKCON Jagannath temple, Rajapur to Chandradaya temple at Mayapur.
The most unique feature of Rath Yatra at Mayapur is that it becomes a symbol of connecting and integrating people from various communities and socio economic backgrounds. For years, it has been a practice in Mayapur that the barriers of caste, creed, community, colour fall apart and people turn up in large numbers to get a glance of Lord Jagannath seated in his flower decked cart.
Adding to this, this year, the Ratha Yatra of ISKCON at Mayapur bears special attraction to the devotees as the wheel of Bladev’s chariot from Puri has reached Mayapur. The wheel of the Puri chariot has already been placed in front of the Samadhi Mandir in Mayapur, the main center of Iskcon for display and those who will be unable to go Puri will get a chance to have a glimpse of the wheel.
A grand Gundicha Temple on the lines of Puri Jagannath temple has been constructed at Prabhupad ghat along the Ganga and the deities will be kept there till the Ulta Rath.
A carnival is being set up around the Gundicha temple where prasad stalls, games, roller coaster rides and others have been set up. All day, there will be kirtan and bhajans by local and international devotees.
Images By : Debabrata Malakar
Tags: #RathaYatra #ISKCON #Mayapur #Rajapur #GundichaTemple #ChariotWheel #Jagannath #Baladev #Subhadra
