HYDERABAD: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is organising a five-hour long annual Rath Yatra on Sunday at from 12 noon onwards.Symbolising the confluence of Indian culture, the 134th edition of Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra will be taken out from the Jagannath temple here, a temple trust official said. “The Rath Yatra over the years has emerged as a symbol of communal harmony drawing participation from all sects and reflects the true Indian culture in spirit,” said H G Mahasringa Dasa, the chairman of the Temple Administrative board.The yatra will start from NTR stadium and will proceed East toward RTC crossroads via Chikkadapally, Narayanaguda crossroads, YMCA, Kacheguda crossroads, Badichowdi, Sultanbazar, Koti Women College, Putlibowli, Jambagh road, Abids circle, Nampally station road and reach Lalitha Kala Thoranam, Public Gardens at 5.30 pm, said Vedantha Chaitanya Das, president, ISKCON Krishna Mandir Abids.Sharing details about religious festival, he said, “This is one of the biggest events, where lord Jagannath moves out of his temple along with elder brother Balaram and sister Subhadra to give darshan to devotees. During the yatra, Iskcon members would sing bhajans, give discourses, maha aarati and distribute prasadam. The devotees will offer their choicest services from lamps to ‘chappan bhog’ and will also have the opportunity to perform aarati.” “More than 1.50 lakh participants are likely to take part in the procession.More than seven tons of sumptuous prasadam would distribute to the public and more than 12,000 devotees would offer lamp aarti directly to the Lord,” he added.SignificanceThere is another significance to this Rath Yatra. Every year it is believed that after the 15 days of Snan Yatra, the God comes out to see his devotees.The Snan Yatra is an occasion where all the devotees bathe the Lord and he falls sick. Due to this reason he is unable to give darshan to his devotes.In the Snan Yatra the pujaaris and the devotees offer medical herbs to the Lord.During this period no one prays to Lord Jagannath as he does not offer darshan to his devotees. After recovery that is, after 15 days the Lord himself comes out and gives darshan to His devotes. Also, during the time of Kurukshetra war, when there was a solar eclipse, the people of Vrindavan wanted to take the Lord back home. Hence the Jagannath Rath Yatra is a home -going ceremony for Lord Jagannath How the festival is celebratedThe festival begins with the Ratha Prathistha or invoking ceremony in the morning but the Ratha Tana or chariot-pulling is the most exciting part of the festival, which begins in the late afternoon when the chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra start rolling. Each of these carriages have different specifications: the chariot of Lord Jagannath is called Nandighosa with 18 wheels; the chariot of Balabhadra called Taladhvaja, has 16 wheels and Devadalana, the chariot of Subhadra has 14 wheels
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