Show Hare Krishna 10° Ratha-Yatra

Belo Horizonte Ratha Yatra, o maior festival cultural da Índia em BH. Praça Sete e Parque Municipal.
Ratha Yatra, also referred to as Rathayatra, Rathajatra or Chariot festival is any public procession in a chariot. The term particularly refers to the annual Rathayatra in Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other East Indian states, particularly the Odia festival [3] that involve a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), Balabhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot. It attracts over a million Hindu pilgrims who join the procession each year.
Rathayatra processions have been historically common in Vishnu-related (Jagannath, Rama, Krishna) traditions in Hinduism across India, in Shiva-related traditions, saints and goddesses in Nepal, with Tirthankaras in Jainism, as well as tribal folk religions found in the eastern states of India. Notable ratha yatras in India include the Ratha yatra of Puri, the Dhamrai Ratha Yatra and the Ratha Yatra of Mahesh. Hindu communities outside India, such as in Singapore, celebrate Rathayatra such as those associated with Jagannath, Krishna, Shiva and Mariamman. According to Knut Jacobsen, a Rathayatra has religious origins and meaning, but the events have a major community heritage, social sharing and cultural significance to the organizers and participants.
Ratha-yatra is derived two Sanskrit words, Ratha (रथ) which means chariot or carriage, and yātrā (यात्रा) which means journey or pilgrimage. In other Indian languages such as Odia, the phonetic equivalents are used, such as ratha and jatra. Other names for the festival are ratha jatra or chariot festival.
Rathayatra is a journey in a chariot accompanied by the public. It typically refers to a procession (journey) of deities, people dressed like deities, or simply religious saints and political leaders. The term appears in medieval texts of India such as the Puranas, which mention the Rathayatra of Surya (Sun god), of Devi (Mother goddess), and of Vishnu. These chariot journeys have elaborate celebrations where the individuals or the deities come out of a temple accompanied by the public journeying with them through the Ksetra (region, streets) to another temple or to the river or the sea. Sometimes the festivities include returning back to the sacrosanctum of the temple.
Jagannath (Odia: ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, IAST: Jagannātha, or Jagannatha) literally means "Lord of the Universe" and is a deity worshipped in regional traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism in India and Bangladesh. Jagannath is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. To some Vaishnava Hindus, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna; to some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric representation of Bhairava; to some Buddhists, he is symbolism for Buddha in the Buddha-Sangha-Dhamma triad; to some Jains, his name and his festive rituals are derived from Jeenanath of Jainism tradition.
The icon of Jagannath is a carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face, and the icon has a conspicuous absence of hands or legs. The worship procedures, sacraments and rituals associated with Jagannath are syncretic, and include rites that are uncommon in Hinduism. The origin and evolution of Jagannath worship is unclear. Some scholars interpret hymn 10.155.3 of the Rigveda as a possible origin, but others disagree and state that it is a syncretic deity with tribal roots. His name does not appear in the traditional Dashavatara (ten avatars) of Vishnu, though in certain Odia literature, Jagannath has been treated as the Ninth avatar, as a substitute for or the equivalent of the Buddha.
The annual festival called the Ratha yatra celebrated in June or July every year in eastern states of India is dedicated to Jagannath. His image along with the other two associated deities, is ceremoniously brought out of the sacrosanctum (Garbhagriha) of his chief temple in Puri (Oriya: Bada Deula). They are placed in a chariot, which is then pulled by numerous volunteers, thus transported to the Gundicha Temple (located at a distance of nearly 3 kilometres (1.9 mi)). They stay there for a few days, and are thereafter returned to the main temple. Coinciding with the Ratha Yatra festival at Puri, similar processions are organized at Jagannath temples throughout the world. This festive public procession of Jagannath in Puri, where the heavy carriage becomes a "massive inexorable force, an unstoppable public campaign that crushes whatever is in its path" is the source of the word Juggernaut.