Jaya Jagannātha! Jaya Baladeva!! Jaya Subhadrā!!!
We are very glad to announce that ISKM Puducherry (Pondicherry) celebrated its sixth consecutive annual Jagannātha Ratha Yātrā celebrations on 18th of Feb 2017. Lord Jagannātha is the most merciful form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as He is worshipable by everyone even without any qualifications. But Lord Jagannātha becomes more merciful when He comes out on the streets. Our beloved deities Lord Jagannātha, Lord Baladeva and Śrīmatī Subhadrā-devī came out on our gigantic 25-feet high chariot and showered Their mercy to everyone. As mentioned in Skanda Purāṇa, even those who do not know the glories of Jagannātha Ratha Yātrā get the unlimited benefits even just by seeing the Lord on the chariot.
Throughout the 5-km-long procession path, devotees welcomed Their Lordships by offering obeisances to Them. Some performed arcana (offerings) for Their Lordships whereas some people offered fruits and sweets for Their pleasure. Some devotees offered water, milk and fruit juices to all those devotees who pulled the chariot and performed kīrtana. The kīrtana team led by Sanātana Prabhu was leading the procession by vibrating the sweet Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and others repeated the mantra while pulling the chariot. Some were singing the holy name, some were playing the mṛdaṅga, some were playing the karatāla cymbals, some were dancing and some were pulling the ropes of the chariot. Throughout the chariot procession Śrī Kṛṣṇa prasādam was distributed to everyone who witnessed the procession. About 8,000 packets of prasādam was distributed on the streets. More than a hundred transcendental books were distributed during the festival. About a total of 10,000 people were blessed by the merciful Lord by way of this grand festival.
Our special guest was His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu, the Senior Spiritual Mentor of ISKM conglomerate of temples and the President of ISKM Singapore. Śrīmān Lakshmi Narayanan MLA [Member of Legislative Assembly] and Śrīmān M.N.R. Balan MLA (noted local politicians) were the Chief Guests of the event. Devotees from different parts of the country participated in the event. His Grace Sundar Gopāl Prabhu gave an inspiring talk on the importance of Jagannātha Ratha Yātrā at the beginning of the procession. The procession started at about 5pm and the chariot reached the temple at 9pm. Kṛṣṇa prasādam feast was given to all the devotees present there.
Hare Kṛṣṇa!
