Rathayatra of Mahesh
Encyclopedia
The Rathajatra of Mahesh is the second oldest chariot
festival in India
(after Rath Yatra
at Puri
) and oldest in Bengal
, having been celebrated since 1397. It is a week-long festival and a grand fair is held at that time. People throng to have a share in pulling the long ropes (Roshi) attached to the chariots of Lord Jagannath
, Balarama
and Subhadra
on the journey from the temple to Serampur Gundicha Bari and back.
of West Bengal
. It is near Serampur town.
Under serampore polish station
So Drubanada returned to Mahesh and started his Sadhana. Then in a scary rainy night, that Daru-Brahma appeared at Mahesh. He jumped into the water and received it. Then he made the Idols OF the Holy Trinity and established a Temple.
. Later old Drubananda requested Him to take the charge of this Temple. On his request He made Kamalakar Piplai, the fifth of Twelve Gopalas of Mahaprabhu, the Sebait of the Temple. After few days, Drubananda died.
of Khalijuli in Sunderbans. He came to Navadwip to study Logic. Later he became a favorite of Mahaprabhu and joined his ministry. He was the first of the 64 Mohantas. After taking the charge of Mahesh Temple, he remained there and it is he who started the famous chariot festival, more than 600 years ago. His heirs still lives in Mahesh as the Sebait or ‘Adhikary’ of the Temple.
, his wife Sarada Devi
, Dramatist Girish Chandra Ghosh
etc. many people came to visit the famous fair of the lord.
, Kolkata
in 1755. It cost Rs. 20,000.
Nothing about the first Ratha is known. Once a devotee of Baidyabati donate a ratha to the Temple. In 1797, Sri Ramakrishna’s famous disciple Balarama Basu’s grandfather Krishnaram Basu donate another Ratha. His son Guruprasad Basu renewed the Ratha in 1935. But after some year the Ratha was burnt. Then Kalachand Basu made another in 1852. But one day a person committed suicide inside the Ratha. Taking this a sign of evil, Biswambhar Basu made a different Ratha in 1857, but it also burnt. Then Dewan Krishnachandra Basu ordered an Iron-Chariot from Martin Burn Co. This Ratha is still in existent.
Temple car
Temple cars are chariots used to carry representations of Hindu gods. The car is usually used on festival days, when many people pull the cart....
festival in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(after Rath Yatra
Rath Yatra
Ratha Yatra is a huge Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July. Most of the city's society is based around the worship of Jagannath with the ancient temple being the fulcrum of the area...
at Puri
Puri
Puri is district headquarter, a city situated about south of state capital Bhubaneswar, on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian state of Orissa. It is also known as Jagannath Puri after the Jagannath Temple . It is a holy city of the Hindus as a part of the Char Dham pilgrimages...
) and oldest in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, having been celebrated since 1397. It is a week-long festival and a grand fair is held at that time. People throng to have a share in pulling the long ropes (Roshi) attached to the chariots of Lord Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
, Balarama
Balarama
Balarama , also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha, is the elder brother of the divine being, Krishna in Hinduism. Within Vaishnavism Hindu traditions Balarama is worshipped as an Avatar of Vishnu, and he is also listed as such in the Bhagavata Purana...
and Subhadra
Subhadra
Image:Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra in Radhadesh.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=|Subhadra, flanked by her brothers Balarama and Jagannatha . Deities of the Radhadesh temple in Belgium...
on the journey from the temple to Serampur Gundicha Bari and back.
Location
Mahesh is in Hooghly districtHooghly District
Hooghly district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal in India. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.The headquarters of the district are at Chinsura...
of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. It is near Serampur town.
Under serampore polish station
Story behind the Festival
It was the fourteenth century. Drubananda Brahmachari, a great Bengali sage went to Puri for pilgrimage. He had a desire to offer Lord Jagannath ‘Bhoga’ with his own hand. But the Temple authority prevented him do so. Broken-hearted Drubananda decided to fast until death. On the third day, he heard the Lord’s voice in his dream, “Drubananda, go back to Bengal. At the bank of Bhagirathi, you will find a place called Mahesh. There I shall send you a huge Daru-Brahma (Neem trunk). Make Balarama, Subhadra and my Idol with this trunk. I am eager to have ‘Bhoga’ in your hand.”So Drubanada returned to Mahesh and started his Sadhana. Then in a scary rainy night, that Daru-Brahma appeared at Mahesh. He jumped into the water and received it. Then he made the Idols OF the Holy Trinity and established a Temple.
Sri Chaitanya at Mahesh
After taking sanyas, Sri Chaitanya left for Puri. In the way, he reached at Mahesh. After visiting Drubananda’s Temple, he lost his sense, and absorbed in deep SamādhiSamadhi
Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
. Later old Drubananda requested Him to take the charge of this Temple. On his request He made Kamalakar Piplai, the fifth of Twelve Gopalas of Mahaprabhu, the Sebait of the Temple. After few days, Drubananda died.
Kamalakar Piplai
Kamalakar Piplai was, as it is mentioned earlier, twelve of the twelve Gopalas of Sri Chaitanya. He was the son of the ZamindarZamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
of Khalijuli in Sunderbans. He came to Navadwip to study Logic. Later he became a favorite of Mahaprabhu and joined his ministry. He was the first of the 64 Mohantas. After taking the charge of Mahesh Temple, he remained there and it is he who started the famous chariot festival, more than 600 years ago. His heirs still lives in Mahesh as the Sebait or ‘Adhikary’ of the Temple.
The Fair and the Festival
Not only this festival is the oldest but also the biggest Rathayatra in Bengal. Nearly 2-3 lakh people come to see the month-long fair. Lord goes to Serampur Gundicha Temple and remains there till Punarjatra, or Ultorath, as it is popularly known in Bengal.Mahesh and ‘Radharani’
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s famous novel ‘Radharani’ consists a wonderful description of Mahesh Rathayatra. Radharani, the little blind heroine of the novel got lost in the fair, and then found by her future lover. Bankim’s description does not only gives a vivid picture of the festival but also it gave the fair a romantic literary charm. It is said that even today one can feel the brokenhearted girl’s sorrow.Famous people who came to Mahesh
Sri RamakrishnaRamakrishna
Ramakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
, his wife Sarada Devi
Sarada Devi
Sarada Devi , born Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya , was the wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth century mystic of Bengal. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Ramakrishna monastic order...
, Dramatist Girish Chandra Ghosh
Girish Chandra Ghosh
Girish Chandra Ghosh was a Bengali musician, poet, playwright, novelist, theatre director and actor. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre. He can be referred to as the Father of Bengali Theatre...
etc. many people came to visit the famous fair of the lord.
The Ever-Changing Chariot
But nor the Ratha neither the Temple of Kamalakar has existed. The modern Temple was made by Nayanchand Mallik of PathuriaghataPathuriaghata
Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest residential areas in what was Sutanuti. Once the abode of the Bengali rich, the neighbourhood and its surrounding areas are now dominated by Marwaris...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
in 1755. It cost Rs. 20,000.
Nothing about the first Ratha is known. Once a devotee of Baidyabati donate a ratha to the Temple. In 1797, Sri Ramakrishna’s famous disciple Balarama Basu’s grandfather Krishnaram Basu donate another Ratha. His son Guruprasad Basu renewed the Ratha in 1935. But after some year the Ratha was burnt. Then Kalachand Basu made another in 1852. But one day a person committed suicide inside the Ratha. Taking this a sign of evil, Biswambhar Basu made a different Ratha in 1857, but it also burnt. Then Dewan Krishnachandra Basu ordered an Iron-Chariot from Martin Burn Co. This Ratha is still in existent.