Ratha Yatra or the Festival of Chariots, a Hindu celebration on the streets of Ciutat Vella
This year, on Sunday 7 July, the Hindu community will be celebrating the Festival of Chariots (Ratha Yatra). This is an ancient tradition from Odisha state in India, where Krishna is worshipped as the Lord of the Universe. The date is set according to the Hindu lunar calendar, and usually coincides with the months of June or July.
Although the official date for celebrating Ratha Yatra is 7 July, according to this year’s Hindu calendar, the association organising this festival in Barcelona, Associació ISKCON, will be holding a celebration on the streets of Ciutat Vella on Saturday 13 July, from 5.00 pm. The route will begin and end in Plaça Reial. The city’s streets will be filled with colour, singing and dancing to pay homage to Lord Krishna.
What is Ratha Yatra?
Ratha Yatra or the Festival of Chariots, is a Hindu festival which is celebrated during the rainy season at the start of the month of Ashadha (between June and July), in homage to Lord Krishna. It originated in the city of Puri, in Odisha state in the north-east of India, and is now celebrated in over one hundred cities around the world.
Ratha Yatra is a festival that commemorates the return journey of Krishna and his two siblings, Balabhadra and Subhadra, to the home of their adoptive mother, where they’d spent their childhood. Each year, three large new chariots full of symbolism are carefully constructed and decorated. They carry the deities from the temple of Jagannatha (another name for Krishna) to the temple of Gundicha, where they remain for seven days before returning to the temple of Jagannatha. The purpose of the procession is to enable people to begin the journey back to their spiritual selves, beyond the ephemeral world, in the company of Lord Krishna, in an exchange of love and devotion, expressed through music, song and dance.
Who is Krishna?
Hinduism is the West’s name for the set of beliefs and philosophies of India that share similar doctrinal bases and the same sacred texts. The real name of this religion is Sanatana Dharma, which means ‘eternal law’.
For devout followers of ‘Vaishnavism’, Krishna and Vishnu are the names of God. Krishna means ‘all-attractive ‘and Vishnu the ‘all-pervading’ or the ‘omnipresent’. He is the one who maintains balance in all creation and bestows stability and well-being. In particular, Krishna manifests the attributes of mercy and love, elements that characterise the path of devotion (the Bhakti Marga).
Barcelona’s Hindu community
Barcelona’s Hindu community started to become more visible at the end of the 1970s, mainly due to the interest of local people in eastern traditions. It was not until the 1990s that people from countries with a Hindu tradition began to arrive in the city, mainly from India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
In Barcelona there are several centres dedicated to the study and dissemination of the Hindu tradition from a cultural perspective, and with a view to improving personal wellbeing. There are also several communities that consider themselves religious communities, who are involved in the organisation of Hindu celebrations and festivities.
The oldest Hindu temple in Barcelona was opened in 2000 by the ISKCON Association (the Association for the Consciousness of Krishna). This is the entity that organises Ratha Yatra in Barcelona.
You can watch the video of the 2018 Ratha Yatra HERE.
You can view and download the Ratha Yatra brochure HERE (Catalan).
You can read the article Per entendre el calendari hindú (Understanding the Hindu Calendar) HERE.
