RUKUNA RATHA
Rukuna Ratha is the annual chariot festival
of Lord Lingaraj, as it grandly rolled down from the 11th century
Lingaraj Temple to the Mausima Temple. The uniqueness of Rukuna Ratha is it
never ‘takes a turn’, unlike the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra
and Devi Subhadra in Puri. Special brakes are built to ensure the same. When it
is time for this chariot to return after five day sojourn at the Mausima
Temple, it is drawn by the devotees from behind. The Rukuna ratha is thus
called ‘analeuta’ (the chariot that does not take a turn ).
.jpg) |
| RUKUNA RATHA OF LORD LINGARAJ |
Legend has it that Lord Shiva was given
this chariot by all the gods to kill a demon called “Tripurasura”. He was
accompanied by Goddess Shakti, who was also known as Rukmini, by whose name
this festival has come to be known.
This festival starts with resonating cheers from the
devotees interspersed with the beats of the “mardal” and the sound of tapping
feet of Ghantua Artist set the tone for the festival on the occasion of
Ashokasthami.
Bronze idols of the three deities :
Chandrasekhar
( the incarnation of Lord Lingaraj ), Rukmini and Basudeva were
brought to the chariot after the initial ritual, after which the four wheeled
35 feet wooden chariot thundered across the road in all its glory, pulled
enthusiastically by thousands of devotees.
No comments:
Post a Comment