On June 19, Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra will proceed to their Gundicha Temple garden house in Puri, Orissa, to the accompaniment of the beat of cymbals, drums and chanting by lakhs of devotees.

According to legend, Lord Jagannath is said to have expressed a desire to visit his birthplace, Gundicha Ghar, once every year, and thus the Jagannath yatra came about.

The yatra is a symbolic humanisation of god, and all rituals associated with the festival demonstrate an attempt to bring the godhead down to a more human level.

Left: Last year's rath yatra wends its way down the Puri streets
Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images
Text: Giridhar Gopal

Also see: Advani in Vidarbha