FESTIVAL FACTS

Three wooden chariots are built for the Puri car festival every year. A look at what it involves.

Jagannath’s rath, Nandighosh, is 45.5 ft high. It has 16 wheels and its roof is covered with red and yellow fabric. Balabhadra’s rath, Taladhwaja, is 45 ft high. It has 14 wheels and its roof is covered with red and green cloth. Devadalana, Subhadra’s rath, is 44.5ft high. It has 12 wheels and its roof is covered with red and black fabric. Seven groups of people, numbering over 200, work for approximately two months to build the three raths. The construction of the raths begins on Akhshaya Tritiya. ₹4.85 crore was the budget for last year’s Rath Yatra festival. This year the estimated budget is ₹6 crore. Approximately 865 trees are felled every year for the wood to build the three chariots.

Four kinds of trees can be used to build the chariots. These are locally known as Asana, Dhaura, Simli and Phasi. Traditionally, the wood for building the chariots is sourced from the Nayagrah and Khordah forest divisions. Devotees also donate trees to the temple for the chariots.

In the early 2000s, the state government started the Jagannath Bana Prakalpa, a project to plant the trees needed to build the raths, says the temple administration. For the past few years, the temple administration has been selling the wheels of the raths after the yatra - mainly to corporate houses – for display and worship. Wood from the rest of the rath is used as fuel to cook Jagannath’s bhog.