।। Ratha Yatra or Ghosha Yatra in Srimandir Part – 3 ।।

Jay Jagannath, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. This Part 3 entry in the Ghosha Yatra Srimandir series explains two sacred traditions: Shaiva Gundicha and Mahaprabhu’s Shri Gundicha Yatra.

Various Gundicha Yatras are observed in Srimandir. The traditions named in this article are Shakta Gundicha, Saura Gundicha, Shaiva Gundicha and Shri Gundicha.

Ghosha Yatra Srimandir: Shaiva and Shri Gundicha Traditions

(3) Shaiva Gundicha: The Shaiva Gundicha ritual is observed on the sacred Chaitra Shukla Ashtami tithi, the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra. The Mahajana servitors take Shri Lokanath Mahadev from the Bhandara Ghara to the Aishaneshwara Mahadev temple. Shri Lokanath is then seated in a palanquin and taken in procession to the Jagannath Ballabha Matha. There, rituals including Bhoga, Bandapana and Ashokakalika Manohi are completed. Afterward, Shri Lokanath returns in Bahuda Bije and is installed again in the Bhandara Ghara.

Within this Ghosha Yatra Srimandir discussion, Shaiva Gundicha shows how the wider Gundicha tradition includes a distinct procession and worship sequence for Shri Lokanath Mahadev. The movement from Bhandara Ghara to Aishaneshwara Mahadev temple and Jagannath Ballabha Matha, followed by the return procession, forms the ritual cycle described in this Part 3 account.

(4) Shri Gundicha Yatra or Ratha Yatra or Ghosha Yatra: Mahaprabhu’s world-famous Shri Gundicha Yatra takes place annually from Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya, the second day of the bright fortnight of Ashadha, until Ashadha Shukla Trayodashi, concluding with Niladri Bije, the final return to the temple.

The Ghosha Yatra Srimandir account then turns from the Shaiva Gundicha ritual to Mahaprabhu’s annual Shri Gundicha journey. By presenting both traditions together, Part 3 shows how the word Gundicha is connected with more than one sacred observance in the ritual life described by the article.

Read together, these sections give the Ghosha Yatra Srimandir series a clear progression from the listed Gundicha traditions to the world-renowned Ratha Yatra of Mahaprabhu.

Jay Jagannath, Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Namah.

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