For the first time in London, devotees pulled a chariot carrying idols of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra, and sister Devi Subhadra, as well as his weapon, the holy Sudarshana, through the streets of Southall, commemorating Rath Yatra on the designated auspicious day.
Organised by Shree Jagannatha Society (SJS), UK, hundreds of devotees gathered at Britain’s oldest Hindu temple, Shri Ram Mandir in Southall, to participate in Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra on July 1. Rituals were conducted as per the religious procedures laid out in Skanda Purana.
Only festival in the world where deities are taken out of temples
The nine-day Rath Yatra commemorates Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra’s annual procession to Gundicha Mandir, the abode of their aunt, and is the only festival in the world where deities are taken out of temples to mingle and travel with devotees.
How the ritual began
The rituals in Southall began with the consecration of the chariot, hand-constructed and decorated by Jagannath devotees in the UK, following which the idols were brought to their throne and adorned. In a ceremonial Pahandi Yatra, the idols were carried to their chariot and the ceremonial sweeping was performed before it was pulled through Southall with cymbals ringing and conches being blown amidst cries of “Hari Bol” before being escorted to a room acting as the Gundicha Mandir where the deities will reside for nine days.
Chetan Shatapathy, SJS, UK trustee, said: “We hope very soon we will have the first dedicated Shree Jagannath Mandir in the UK and then we can have a yatra with thousands of devotees.”
