Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra 2025: Dates, history and significance

The Jagannath Rath Yatra, also known as the Jagannath Puri Yatra or the ‘Festival of Chariots’, is one of India’s most significant festivities, and this year it will be celebrated on June 27. It is a festival, performed annually in Puri, Odisha, to worship Lord Jagannath, a form of Lord Vishnu, his elder brother Balabhadra, and his sister Subhadra.

Rath Yatra 2025: Dates and other details

The celebration takes place on Dwitiya Tithi, which is the second day of the bright fortnight of the Sharad Paksha, a fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Asadh, which often falls during the month of June/July as per the Gregorian calendar.

The festival officially started yesterday, on Thursday June 12, with the Snana Purnima (ceremonial bathing of the deities) aka Snana yatra, followed by a rest period called Anavasara from June 13 to June 26, during which the idols are kept away from public view as they are believed to be recuperating from a "fever" which they got after the bath.

According to Drik Panchang, this year, the Dwitiya date starts from Thursday, June 26 at 1.24 pm and ends on Friday, June 27 at 11.19 am, which is why the Rath Yatra procession, where Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra are taken out on their respective chariots, will be on Friday, June 27, 2025.

The symbolic meanng of Rath Yatra

The Rath Yatra is a festival celebrating life journeys and the pursuit of soul liberation, as it gets reflected to the symbolic journey of Lord Jagannath from the temple (the heavens) to the streets (the earthly realm) to visit all of his devotees.

It is also believed that Lord Jagannath returns to his birthplace, Mathura, in this journey, and devotees who pull the chariots and touch the ropes are granted blessings and forgiveness of sins. Some also believe that the siblings visit their Mashir Bari (maternal aunt's house), referring to the temporary abode of Lord Jagannath during the Rath Yatra festival in Puri, Odisha, the Gundicha Temple.

During the Rath Yatra, the deities are taken from the main temple to Gundicha Temple and then back to the main temple. It is also said that the Chhera Panhara rite (sweeping the chariots) is performed by the King of Puri himself, demonstrating that everyone is equal in the eyes of God.

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