On the auspicious second day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Ashadha, Lord Jagannath embarks on his annual journey to the Gundicha Temple in Puri, Odisha, accompanied by Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. In 2025, this sacred procession takes place on Friday, June 27.
The Rath Yatra is one of the most revered festivals in Hinduism, celebrated with immense devotion by Jagannath devotees around the world. The nine-day celebration begins with the majestic procession of the deities on massive, intricately crafted wooden chariots and concludes with Niladri Bijay on July 5, 2025, marking the deities' return to the Jagannath Temple.
Puri
The 'Pahandi' ritual in which Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath are being carried in a procession from the 12th-century temple to their respective chariots for the Rath Yatra started on Friday.
In the Pahandi the trinity - Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath - are being carried in a procession to their respective chariots parked in front of the Lion's Gate for journey to Shree Gundicha Temple, about 2.6 kilometre from the 12th-century shrine here.
With the beating of gongs, and blowing of conches and cymbals, Chakraraj Sudarshan was first to be carried out from the main temple and seated at the 'Darpadalan' chariot of Devi Subhadra. Shree Sudarshan is the wheel weapon of Lord Vishnu, who is worshipped in the form of Lord Jagannath in Puri, said Pandit Suryanaray Rathsharma.
The three majestic chariots now stand tall in front of the Singha Dwar of the temple facing east towards the Gundicha temple.
Lakhs of devotees have already thronged the pilgrim town of Puri to witness the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings on Friday.
The festival is being held amid unprecedented security arrangements with deployment of around 10,000 personnel of Odisha police, central armed police force, NSG and others. "We have made all possible arrangements for smooth conduct of Rath Yatra," DGP Y B Khurania told reporters, adding that over 275 AI-enabled CCTV cameras are keeping watch on the crowd.
Digha
Devotees from 50 countries have already arrived in Digha and participated in the preparations of 'bhog' for the deities. Unlike the Jagannath Dham in Puri, entry of devotees from foreign countries is allowed in the Digha temple.
As preparations for the festival are in full swing, the administration is ready to conduct the event smoothly, an official said.
As part of the festival, the three chariots will be taken out from the temple around 2:30 pm, and the entire journey will be over by 4 pm, officials said.
The sweeping of the route of the Rath Yatra by a golden broom will begin at 1:45 pm, they said.
Accompanied by monks of the temple and others, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will perform the ritual, Das said.
Pilgrims attending the grand Rath Yatra festival will have to stand behind barricades along the 1 km procession route. They wouldn't be allowed to spill onto the streets to pull the ropes of the chariots to avoid the risk of any stampede.
The seaside resort town of Digha has been fully decked up, adorned with temple-themed cutouts, giant images of deities and illuminations designed by artists from Hooghly district's Chandernagore.
Nadia
Ahmedabad
The 148th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath began in Ahmedabad on Friday morning, with thousands of devotees joining in for a glimpse of the deity.
The raths or chariots of the deities were pulled out of the Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area of the city by the Khalasi community as per the age-old tradition.
The grand procession of the three chariots rolled on from the 400-year-old temple, and it is expected to return by 8 pm after making its way through the old city, including a few communally sensitive areas.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his family members participated in the morning prayers at the Jagannath temple, while Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel performed ‘pahind vidhi’, a traditional ceremony of symbolic cleaning of roads by a golden broom.
The procession, usually comprising 18 elephants, 100 trucks, ‘bhahan-mandlis’ (devotional groups) and 30 akhadas (local gymnasiums), will cover a distance of 16 km during the day. Several trucks have been decorated as tableaux on different themes.
Nearly 23,800 security personnel have been deployed in the city to guard the annual Rath Yatra, which is expected to draw 14-15 lakh people.
According to a government release, an Artificial Intelligence-based surveillance system will be used for the first time to prevent stampede-like situations.
About 4,500 security personnel will walk with the procession on the entire 16-km route, while 1,931 personnel will be deployed for traffic management, said officials. Several roads will remain closed to normal traffic.
Senior police officials will keep a watch on the Rath Yatra procession using 2,872 body-worn cameras linked with the control room, 41 drones and 96 cameras installed at different locations and 25 watch towers.
Varanasi
In the sacred city of Varanasi, where spirituality flows through every street and ghat, devotees, from monks to everyday worshippers, came together in a spirit of unity and devotion to participate in the grand Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath. As the richly decorated chariots rolled through the ancient lanes, devotion filled the atmosphere.