Rathayātrā Pastimes

By Lokanāth Swami

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spent His later years in Jagannātha Purī, Orissa, immersed in love of Godhead and absorbed in wonderful pastimes with His intimate associates and with the Deity of Kṛṣṅa in Purī, known as Jagannātha, “the Lord of the universe.” This was nearly five hundred years ago.

One of the most attractive of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes was His role in the yearly Rathayātrā, the Festival of the Chariots, in which Lord Jagannātha parades through the main street of the city on a huge decorated cart pulled by devotees. Year after year—for eighteen years altogether—Lord Caitanya took part in the Rathayātrā festival in Purī.

Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Kṛṣṅa Himself in the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī. So during the festival He used to chant and dance in front of Lord Jagannātha’s cart, acting out a drama. Śrīla Prabhupāda, commenting on the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, where these pastimes are described, says that the two Lords—Lord Caitanya and Lord Jagannātha—were reenacting a conjugal pastime, or mādhurya-līlā. Lord Caitanya, absorbed in transcendental emotions, would play the role of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī, Lord Jagannātha’s eternal consort. Sometimes Lord Caitanya would fall behind Lord Jagannātha’s cart. The cart would then stop as Jagannātha tried to catch sight of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, attracted by His graceful and enchanting dancing.

The two Lords were reenacting the pastimes performed five thousand years ago in the holy place of Kurukṣetra when Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṅa met after many years of separation. They had last seen each other in Vṛndāvana, when Akrūra had come to take Kṛṣṅa and Balarāma to nearby Mathurā. That day had been the worst day for Rādhārāṅī, the gopīs (cowherd girls), and all the Vrajavāsīs (residents of Vṛndāvana). As Kṛṣṅa left, He promised that after killing the demons outside Vṛndāvana He would return.

Kṛṣṅa, the life of the Vrajavāsīs, stayed in Mathurā for some time and then moved to Dvārakā, where He continued His wondrous pastimes. During these many years, Rādhā and the Vrajavāsīs intensely, almost unbearably felt separation from Kṛṣṅa's lotus feet.

The Meeting at Kurukṣetra

When Nanda Mahārāja (Kṛṣṅa's father) and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī and the other residents of Vṛndāvana learned of Kṛṣṅa's plan to visit Kurukṣetra, not far away, they at once decided to go there. The long-awaited meeting of Kṛṣṅa with these devotees from Vṛndāvana took place in Kurukṣetra on the occasion of a solar eclipse, when the residents of Dvārakā came to bathe in Kurukṣhetra’s holy lakes.

The residents of Dvārakā, members of the Yadu dynasty, erected their royal camp, and nearby the cowherd Vrajavāsīs parked their simple carts. Kṛṣṅa and His brother Balarāma, Their sister Subhadrā, and the residents of Dvārakā and Vṛndāvana like Vasudeva, Devakī, Nanda Mahārāja, Yaśodā Māyī, Rohiṅī, Rādhārāṅī, the gopīs—all met together, mingling and sharing one another’ company.

The Vrajavāsīs and the gopīs were especially pleased to meet Kṛṣṅa, the Lord of their life. Yet they felt that meeting Him at Kurukṣetra was different from meeting Him in Vṛndāvana. They were accustomed to see Him as a simple cowherd boy, not as a royal prince. The Kurukṣetra setting left them unsatisfied. They wanted Kṛṣṅa to come back to Vṛndāvana.

When Rādhā and Kṛṣṅa met, Rādhārāṅī, unable to hide Her desire, expressed Her feelings in this way (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.126–131):

You are the same Kṛṣṅa, and I am the same Rādhārāṅī. We are meeting again the same way that We met in the beginning of Our lives. Although We are both the same, My mind is still attracted to Vṛndāvana-dhāma. I wish that You please again appear with Your lotus feet in Vṛndāvana. Kurukṣetra is crowded with people, their elephants and horses, and the rattling of chariots. In Vṛndāvana, however, there are flower gardens where the humming of the bees and chirping of the birds can be heard. Here at Kurukṣetra You are dressed like a royal prince, accompanied by great warriors, but in Vṛndāvana You appeared just like an ordinary cowherd boy, accompanied only by Your beautiful flute. Here there is not even a drop of the ocean of transcendental happiness that I enjoyed with You in Vṛndāvana. I therefore request You to come to Vṛndāvana and enjoy pastimes with Me. If You do so, My ambition will be fulfilled.

Rādhārāṅī also pleaded on behalf of the Vrajavāsīs: “Why is it that You are simply keeping them alive in a state of suffering? The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana do not want You dressed like a prince, nor do they want You to associate with great warriors in a different country. They cannot leave the land of Vṛndāvana, and without Your presence they are all dying. What is their condition to be?” (Cc. Madhya 13.145–146)

Hearing Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī’s pleas further stirred Lord Kṛṣṅa's love for the residents of Vṛndāvana and perturbed His body and mind.

“My dearest Rādhārāṅī,” the Lord said, “Please hear Me. I am speaking the truth. I cry day and night simply remembering all of You inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. No one knows how unhappy this makes Me.

“All the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana-dhāma—My mother, father, cowherd boyfriends, and everyone else—are like My life and soul.… I am always subservient to the loving affairs of all of You. I am under Your control only. My separation from You and residence in distant places have occurred due to My strong misfortune” (Cc. Madhya 13.149–151).

Full with the desire to take Kṛṣṅa back to Vṛndāvana, the gopīs tried to convince Him and pull His chariot. And again, just as when He had left Vṛndāvana on Akrūra’s chariot, the Lord promised Rādhārāṅī He would return. “Your loving qualities always attract Me to Vṛndāvana,” Kṛṣṅa said. “Indeed, they will bring Me back within ten or twenty days, and when I return I shall enjoy both day and night with You and all the damsels of Vrajabhūmi” (Cc. Madhya 13.158).

The Secret Behind Lord Caitanya’s Dancing

In this meeting of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṅa lies the secret behind Lord Caitanya’s drama at the Jagannātha Purī Rathayātrā. Only a few of Lord Caitanya’s intimate associates could understand it. Śrīla Prabhupāda comments that the whole mood of the Rathayātrā festival is that of bringing Kṛṣṅa back from Kurukṣetra to Vṛndāvana. The imposing temple of Lord Jagannātha in Purī is taken to represent the kingdom of Dvārakā, the place where Kṛṣṅa enjoys supreme opulence, and the temple of Guṅḍicā, to which the Lord is brought, stands for Vṛndāvana, the realm of His sweetest pastimes.

Assuming the part of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṅī, Lord Caitanya felt the ecstasy of this most exalted of the gopīs. By falling behind the Rathayātrā cart, He was testing Lord Jagannātha, seeking His reciprocation: “Is Kṛṣṅa remembering us? I want to see. Does He really care for us? If He does care, then He will wait and try to find out where we are.”

Amazingly, every time Lord Caitanya would go behind the Rathayātrā cart, it would stop. Lord Jagannātha was waiting, trying to see, “Where is Rādhā? Where are the Vrajavāsīs?” Lord Jagannātha, who is Kṛṣṅa Himself, was trying to convey that transcendental feeling to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. “Even though I was away from Vṛndāvana, I have not forgotten You, My dear devotees, especially You, Rādhārāṅī.”

The Deities’ Unusual Forms

Anyone who sees the forms of Lord Jagannātha, Lord Baladeva, and Subhadrā as They are worshiped in Jagannātha Purī may wonder why They look the way They do. Usually Kṛṣṅa is worshiped in His humanlike form of Śyāmsundara, playing the flute. Why would Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu choose to worship Lord Jagannātha, this crude, strange-looking form of the Lord? And why has such a form appeared in Purī in the first place? To discover the reason, let us go back to Kurukṣetra.

During the visit by the Vrajavāsīs, a confidential pastime took place. Rohiṅī, Lord Balarāma’s mother, met in a big tent a group of residents of Dvārakā. She had been staying in Vṛndāvana and now wanted to tell the residents of Dvārakā how much suffering the Vrajavāsīs were going through because of separation from Kṛṣṅa. Before beginning her narration, she posted Subhadrā at the entrance of the tent. “If Kṛṣṅa and Balarāma come this way,” Rohiṅī told her, “don’t let Them in.” She didn’t want the Lords to hear her report, which would certainly agonize Them.

When Kṛṣṅa and Balarāma did happen to come by, Subhadrā dutifully stopped Them from getting in. But They managed to listen from outside the tent. As They began hearing, Kṛṣṅa, Balarāma, and even Subhadrā, who stood between Them, became motionless. They were completely dumbfounded, immersed in intense thoughts of Rādhā, the gopīs, and all the Vrajavāsīs.

Kṛṣṅa, Balarāma, and Subhadrā had heard of the Vrajavāsīs’ feelings of separation, but never directly from a Vrajavāsī like Rohiṅī. As a result, Kṛṣṅa, Balarāma, and Subhadrā became simply astounded. Their eyes grew bigger and bigger in amazement, and other parts of Their bodies—arms, legs, and neck—withdrew into Their bodies, until Kṛṣṅa, Balarāma, and Subhadrā exactly resembled the Deities now worshiped at Purī.

How Jagannātha Came to Purī

How then did these forms come to be worshiped? A few thousand years ago, Viśvakarmā, the architect of the demigods, agreed to carve Deities of Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, and Subhadrā, at the request of a great devotee king named Indradyumna. The king promised to let Viśvakarmā carve in seclusion until the work was finished. But the impatient king broke into the room early, and Viśvakarmā disappeared, leaving behind the set of unfinished Deities. As the king began lamenting—for what would be the use of unfinished Deities?—Lord Jagannātha revealed His identity.

The Lord told the king that He had appeared in this form to fulfill the Vedic statement that although He is without hands and feet He accepts the offerings of His devotees and walks about to bestow His blessings upon the people of the earth. He added that the devotees who have achieved love of Godhead see Him as Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṅa, the original Lord, holding a flute.

Then the sage Nārada came on the scene. He disclosed that Lord Kṛṣṅa had appeared in this particular form once before—in Kurukṣetra. Nārada himself had had the good fortune to see this. Hearing these statements, the king accepted Lord Jagannātha as his worshipable Lord. He understood that the form of the Deities was not an accidental creation: because he had been feeling intense separation from Kṛṣṅa, the Lord had appeared in this form. This was also a sign that the Lord had felt similar separation from the king. Overwhelmed with ecstasy, King Indradyumna began his worship. Since then these forms of Jagannātha, Baladeva, and Subhadrā have been worshiped in Purī.

The Ideal Place for Caitanya Mahāprabhu

It is not by chance that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu lived in Purī and there worshiped the Deity of Lord Jagannātha. Lord Caitanya, during His final pastimes, showed more and more the mood of Rādhārāṅī. Day and night He lamented His separation from the Lord with intense feeling. Lord Jagannātha is the form Kṛṣṅa assumes as He thinks intensely and solely of the Vrajavāsīs, the gopīs, and Rādhārāṅī. Therefore the most appropriate Deity for Lord Caitanya, who had assumed the mood of Rādhārāṅī, was Lord Jagannātha.

The Meaning of the Rathayātrā Festival

Externally, Rathayātrā is spectacular—colorful and entertaining. Yet the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṅavas, the followers of Lord Caitanya, see in the Festival of the Chariots much more than just a happy event. The pulling of the cart by the Lord’s devotees symbolizes the attempt of the Vrajavāsīs, especially Rādhārāṅī and the gopīs, to bring Kṛṣṅa, Balarāma, and Subhadrā back to Vṛndāvana.

Vṛndāvana can also represent the heart of Kṛṣṅa's devotee. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu prayed to Lord Kṛṣṅa, “For most people the mind and heart are one, but because My mind is never separated from Vṛndāvana, I consider My mind and Vṛndāvana to be one. My mind is already Vṛndāvana, and since You like Vṛndāvana, will You please place Your lotus feet there? I would deem that Your full mercy” (Cc. Madhya 13.137). For the devotees of Lord Jagannātha who follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya, pulling the Rathayātrā cart is like pulling their worshipable Lord, Jagannātha or Kṛṣṅa, into their heart.

Festivals Around the World

The Lord of the universe now parades in major cities all over the world, increasing His mercy unlimitedly, responding to the desire of His pure devotee Śrīla Prabhupāda, who brought the Rathayātrā to the West. The first Rathayātrā outside India was held on July 9, 1967, in San Francisco. That year the Deities rode on a flatbed truck borrowed from a group of hippies. In later years the Deities were placed on a more traditional chariot, a large wooden structure decorated with canopies and flags and pulled through the streets by the festival-goers.

As years passed, the chariots were made taller, and more beautiful, and soon ISKCON began holding Rathayātrās in many cities: New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Rome, Zurich, Sydney, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Guadalajara, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow. Śrīla Prabhupāda happily acknowledged, “In 1973 there was a gorgeous Rathayātrā festival in London, England, and the car was brought to Trafalgar Square. The daily newspaper The Guardian published a front-page photo caption: ’ISKCON Rathayātrā is rival to the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square.’ ”

People everywhere are becoming attracted to the joyful and colorful Rathayātrā festival. Thousands of pleasure-seekers throng to behold the giant chariots, chant and dance a bit, enjoy tasty prasādam given free to all, or take part in a full festival of music, dance, exhibits, and spiritual entertainment. And because Lord Jagannātha is a most merciful form of the Lord, even those who hardly understand the philosophy behind Rathayātrā benefit just by seeing the festival or taking part in it.

Lokanāth Swami has been a disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda since 1972. He leads ISKCON's worldwide Padayātrās, or walking pilgrimage parties.