Chariot Festival

festival, Puri, India

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June 24, 2026

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The Chariot Festival, or Rathayatra, is a significant Hindu festival celebrated primarily in Puri, Odisha, India. It honors the deity Jagannatha, a form of Krishna, along with his brother Balarama and sister Subhadra.12

During the festival, which occurs in June or July, the images of these deities are placed on massive wooden chariots. Hundreds of devotees are required to pull these chariots through the streets to a country house, a journey that can take several days. Thousands of pilgrims participate in this procession, which provides devotees with an auspicious viewing (darshan) of the deities outside the temple. The English word "juggernaut," meaning an unstoppable force, is derived from this festival due to the immense size and power of the chariots.13

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Odisha
Festivals
…and of the temple’s annual Chariot Festival(locally known as Rath Yatra), which attracts hundreds of thousands of people; the English word juggernaut, derived from the temple’s name, was inspired by the massive, nearly unstoppable wagons used in the festival. A short distance away, in Konark (Konarak), is a 13th-century temple…
Read More
…and of the temple’s annual Chariot Festival(locally known as Rath Yatra), which attracts hundreds of thousands of people; the English word juggernaut, derived from the temple’s name, was inspired by the massive, nearly unstoppable wagons used in the festival. A short distance away, in Konark (Konarak), is a 13th-century temple…
Read More