Rath Yatra 2019: Sudarsan Pattnaik's sand art on chariot festival is all about peace, joy and happiness—Pic inside

Pic Courtesy: Twitter

New Delhi: The auspicious occasion of Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra has begun today (July 4) amid much fanfare. The 15-day long festival is celebrated with much gusto and fervour in Odisha, Bhubaneswar and the temple town of Puri.

Renowned sand artiste from Bhubaneswar, Sudarsan Pattnaik took to his Twitter handle and shared the picture of his breathtaking sand art creation on the occasion.

He wrote in the tweet: “#JaiJagannath ..... Pray for peace, happiness and joy for everyone on #RathaJatra. My #SandArt for the pious occasion of Chariot Festival at #Puri, #Odisha.”

#JaiJagannath ..... Pray for peace, happiness and joy for everyone on #RathaJatra. My #SandArt for the pious occasion of Chariot Festival at #Puri, #Odisha. pic.twitter.com/wPojHrfqNu

— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) July 3, 2019

Pray for peace, happiness and joy for everyone on #RathaJatra. My #SandArt for the pious occasion of Chariot Festival at #Puri, #Odisha. pic.twitter.com/sT7HcIsWCt

— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) July 3, 2019

The festival is one of the most important ones in the Eastern state of the country. Odisha attracts millions of devotees thronging the annual chariot procession just to get one glimpse of the Lord.

The Rath Yatra or journey of the chariots has a huge religious significance. During the month of Asadha in June or July, the presiding deities—Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra are taken from their Puri temple to Bada Danda and complete the distance of almost 3 km to Shri Gundicha Temple on huge chariots respectively.

While the deities travel on chariots driven by many people, devotees and onlookers pay their obeisance and seek the blessings of the Lord queuing for darshan. The Rath Yatra is also known as the Shri Gundicha Yatra.