This year’s London Rathayatra was on 4th Sept 2022. This International Society for Krishna Consciousness annual event consisted of a parade with a large wooden chariot from Hyde Park Corner to Trafalgar Square, with a cultural and religious festival on Trafalgar Square.
“Ratha-yatra” means “chariot festival”. I was expecting 3 chariots but there was only one. This year they had combined the deities of Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra on one chariot. Lord Jagannath, 'Lord of the Universe', is a Hindu deity worshipped as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister, devi Subhadra. To many Hindus, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna or Vishnu - a special and very merciful form of Krishna.
This celebration has been held every year for hundreds of years at Puri, in Orissa on India’s east coast. There, three huge chariots, carrying the Deity forms of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra, are pulled by hand through the city streets amid loud musical performances.
In Feb 1988 I was in Puri. Puri is one of the four holiest cities in India and is best known for the great Jagannath Temple and the famous Rath Yatra or Car Festival. I couldn't go in the temple as it is not open to non Hindus. The temple has a conical tower 58 m high, topped by the flag and wheel of Vishnu. Inside the temple are the images of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. The images are carved from tree trunks, in a child-like caricature of a human face. They have large eyes. The brothers have arms but the smaller Subhadra doesn't. The Rath Yatra takes place in June or July and there is a festival of cars and the 3 images are brought out of the temple and dragged in huge chariots known as raths. The main car of Jagannath is huge, and this is where the word juggernaut comes from.
Photo of the 3 deities taken from BBC 2021 page "UK's first Lord Jagganath Hindu temple opens in Bath". This page also has a photo of the chariot procession in India.
As I walked along the route towards the start I was surprised there was hardly anyone about. But as I turned the corner towards Hyde Park Corner I could see a long procession of people in the distance - the event had started on time.
Devotees sweeping the path
The 3 deities on the front -
A small cart handing out small pieces of fruit etc
I decided to walk on ahead of the procession and get to Trafalgar Square. These flags were flying along Piccadilly, I think it is something to do with art at the Royal Academy.
There weren't too many people at Trafalgar Square when I arrived, about 50 minutes before the procession. There were some dancers on a small stage
Srila Prabhupada was the founder of ISKC. This society is commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement".
There was free vegetarian food for everybody, so I joined the short queue -
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