History of Mahesh Rath Yatra

BY A STAFF REPORTER 

Once a devotee of Baidyabati donated a ratha to the Mahesh Jagannath Temple. In 1797, Sri Ramakrishna’s famous disciple Balarama Basu’s grandfather Krishnaram Basu donated another Ratha. His son Guruprasad Basu renewed the Ratha in 1835.Then after some years Dewan Krishnachandra Basu ordered an Iron-Chariot from Martin Burn Company in 1885 and the Ratha is still inexistent. The cost of the construction was approx twenty thousand rupees at that time.









The ratha is a Nabaratna temple having nine shikharas. The ratha has a steel framework with wooden scaffolding. It is fitted with Twelve Iron Wheels each measuring twelve inches in circumference. The ratha is Four Storied, measuring 50 feet in height and 125 tonnes in weight.







There are Two Copper Horses one is blue another is white and also Two Swans are attached to the front.Chariot ropes are Two with circumference 10 inches, 100 yards each (Manila rope). Bronze bells are sounded to drive the chariot, and guns are fired to stop it.

On Shukla ditiya tithi, there is a festival of Shubh Rathyatra which held at Mahesh,with one month long chariot fair and exhibition.In Mahesh, Gundicha Bati is called Kunj Bati or Aunty's house.This aunt is not his aunt. Sakhi Pournamasir Kunj is called Kunjbati or Masir Bati and the idol in the temple is named Gopinath.







Jagannathdev spent nine days there.On Sukla dasumi tithi from Sakhi Pournamasir Kunj, Jagannathdev returned to the temple.On the occasion of Shubh Rath Yatra Utsav, Bipattarini, Horapanchami etc were held at the house of Sri Sri Jagannathdev's aunt.During the Rathyatra festival there is another celebration called " Twelfth Gopal Utsav" held in Mahesh.About six hundred and eleven years ago during the fest of Rathyatra there was a sunday,on that sunday Sree Chaitanyamahaprobhu and his Parsads danced around the rath with naam sangkirtan.From that time to at present the "Twelfth Gopal Utsav" held in Mahesh on the sunday during the Rathyatra.