Rathyatra is just a click away!

For Amdavadis residing abroad, the Rathyatra this year will be just a click away. The 132nd Rathyatra of Lord Jagannath, scheduled for this Wednesday, will be telecast live on the website www.jagannathjiahd.org.

The Rathyatra will begin at 7 am on June 24 from the Jagannath temple at Jamalpur and will return at 8.30 pm. For this first time in its history, a tribal dance will be performed by a group, after the Mangala Aarti, which has been scheduled for 4 am. The idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baldev and the Goddess Subhadra will be set on the chariots at 6 am.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will perform a ritual termed the 'pahind' and will flag the Rathyatra off by pulling the chariot of Lord Jagannath. The Rathyatra in Ahmedabad  is famous for its decorated trucks, elephants, akhadas and bhajan mandali. This year, 98 trucks, 18  elephants, 30 akhadas and 18  bhajan mandalis will be part of the procession.

Around 2,000 sadhus will participate in the Rathyatra under the guidance of Rameshwar Dasji, mahant of the Jagannath temple at Jamalpur. Around 4,000 kg of moong and two lakh scarves will be distributed as prasad during the Rathyatra.