Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra - English

Sri Jagannatha Ratha-yatra is bound to take one’s appreciation of Ratha-yatra to new heights, beyond the thrill of an extraordinary cultural or religious experience. Annually, in Puri, India, approximately a million people attend the ancient Ratha-yatra festival, to take darsana of Lord Jagannatha on His chariot, and at least three times that view it from other places in India and around the world. Still, the deep significance of Ratha-yatra, being most confidential, is not widely known. Sri Jagannatha Ratha-yatra is rich with this significance, offering Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavas an invaluable perspective of this wonderful event. The book contains three separate ancient histories of Ratha-yatra as well as an elaborate description of Śri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s inner moods during the festival.

The external and confidential reasons for Sri Jagannatha Ratha-yatra
This custom of performing Ratha-yatra has been prevalent since Satya-yuga. The narration of Ratha-yatra has been described in the Skanda Purana, Padma Purana, Purusottama-mahatmya, Sri Jagannatha's Diary, Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta by Sri Sanatana Gosvami, and in the books of our other Gosvamis. The purpose of this Ratha-yatra is to bestow good fortune upon those who are unable to enter the temple throughout the year, by giving them the opportunity to have darsana of Bhagavan. But this is just the external reason. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has revealed the deep secret behind Rathayatra. Sri Jagannatha Mandira is like Dvaraka, or Kuruksetra, and Gundica Mandira represents Vrndavana.

Sri Krsna stayed in Vraja, where He exhilarated the Vrajavasis by His supremely sweet pastimes, from birth until eleven years of age. After that, He left with Akrura for Mathura. There He slayed Kamsa, thus liberating Sri Vasudeva and Devakiji from Kamsa's atrocities. Upon Jarasandha's repeated attacks on Mathura, to protect its inhabitants, Krsna took all of them to Dvaraka in the middle of the night. 

Upon Sri Krsna's departure from Vraja, all the Vrajavasis became completely aggrieved in separation from Him. After many years, the Vrajavasis were reunited with Sri Krsna in Kuruksetra, during a solar eclipse. Having met with Him, the gopis' pain of separation from Him did diminish somewhat, but still, seeing Sri Krsna there in royal attire and atmosphere, their hearts did not feel the same wonderful joy they used to feel when meeting with Him in His attire of a cowherd boy in Vrndavana. During their reunion in Kuruksetra, Srimati Radharani, topmost among all gopis, said, "O Krsna, our mind is Vrndavana. Stationed on the chariot of our heart, come with us to that Vrndavana, where Your most sweet, love-filled pastimes took place with us." Deeply moved by the bhavas of Sri Radhaji, Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu manifested these bhavas at the time of Ratha-yatra.

Contents: (Introduction To the First Hindi Edition, Preface, Invocation Prayers and a Brief Introduction to Ratha-yatra, The Well-known History of the Appearance of Lord Jagannatha and Ratha-yatra, The First Secret behind the Deities' Manifestation in an Incomplete Form, The Second Secret behind the Deities' Manifestation in an Incomplete Form, The History of King Purusottama Jana, and Sriman Mahaprabhu's Neglect of King Prataparudra, The Cleaning of Gunḍica Temple, The Narration of Ratha-yatra, Sriman Mahaprabhu's Mood at Ratha-yatra, Sriman Mahaprabhu Relishes the Conversation between the Gopis and Sri Krsna at Kuruksetra, Hera-pancami, The Instructions of Sriman Mahaprabhu, Concluding Words, Sriman Mahaprabhu's  Lament in Separation from Sri Krsna, Glossary)

TITLE: Shri Jagannath Rath Yatra - English
AUTHOR: Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayan Goswami Maharaja
PUBLISHER: Gaudiya Vedanta Publications
EDITION: First, 2015
ISBNs: 9781633161290 978-1-63316-129-0 1-63316-129-3 1633161293
LCCN: 2015945844 2015-945844
PAGES: 180 with 20 Color Plates
SHIPPING WEIGHT: 400 grams