Puri, July 3: Jagannath Ratha Yatra, also referred to as Rathajatra, Rathayatra, or Chariot festival is starting on Thursday, July 4, for ten days. Lakhs of people will gather at Odisha's Jagannath Puri to witness Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra riding a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot, which is pulled by devotees as they travel to Gundicha temple. The yatra is about three-kilometre long. Puri Rath Yatra 2019 Date: Time and Route of the Annual Procession Dedicated to Lord Jagannath in Odisha.

Jagannath Ratha Yatra marks the annual journey of trio of deities from Jagannath temple to the shrine of Devi Gundicha, which is believed to be their aunt. The festival ends after nine days with a return journey of three to their temple. The pahandi of three gods begin in the morning when they are taken out in a procession to their raths.

After they are placed, the chariots are pulled by devotees from all walks of life and religions. The spiritual procession draws over a million devotees. The chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are known as Nandighosh, Taladhwaja and Padmadhwaja.

Meanwhile, an official website of Puri Srimandir has been launched today. Devotees can get complete information about Lord Jagannath and his siblings and rituals of the temple from the website Shreejagannath.in, reported Odisha Tv. Currently, the information is only available in English, but the board has plans to launch it in Odia, Hindi and Bengali too, report added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 03, 2019 04:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).