The Festival and The Journey

Dr. Subas Pani

At last the appointed day for the great Festival of chariots arrives. It is Asadha Shukla Dwitiya, the second day in the bright fortnight of the first monsoon month of the Indian seasonal calendar. It is typically in late June in normal years but every few years, after adjustment of the solar and lunar calendars, with a double Baisakha, this occurs in July. The presiding deities of the temple Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, in a unique reversal of roles of the seeker and the sought, set out from within the sanctum of the temple to mingle with millions of their devotees.