- By Kashish Rai
- Thu, 01 May 2025 12:31 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Chandan Yatra 2025 or Sandalwood Festival is a unique and vibrant celebration worshipping Lord Jagannath and other deities in Puri. The 42-day festival heralds the arrival of summer and represents granting relief to the divine beings in the hot season. It is celebrated in two phases. As one of the oldest of the Jagannath Temple's festivals, Chandan Yatra is an important celebration that demonstrates devotion. Throughout this time, the deities at the Jagannath Temple’s sanctum are adorned with sandalwood paste and cooling therapies to provide relief from the heat, in accordance with the devotion and concern of the merciful Lord Jagannatha.
Check out all the significant details regarding the start and end date, significance and legends associated with this sacred ritual below:
Chandan Yatra 2025: Start And End Date
Chandan Yatra 2025 Start Date: 30th April 2025, Wednesday
Chandan Yatra 2025 End Date: 11th June 2025, Wednesday
Chandan Yatra 2025: Significance
The Chandan Yatra festival owes its name to the fragrant paste of sandalwood (chandan), which is applied to the deities as a cooling process. The 42-day festival involves elaborate processions, devotional songs, and serene displays of devotion. In the major 21-day portion of the festival, idols of deities are carried in procession to a sacred pond where they are provided with a ceremonial boat ride and sandalwood bath.
The last 21 days are observed inside the temple compound, where there are special pujas carried out by servitors. Chandan Yatra is a commemoration of devotees' affectionate union with the deity and the manifestation of the Lord's compassion and generosity. The festival is also the beginning of preparing chariots for the yearly Ratha Yatra. By such pujas, devotees offer their love and gratitude and get an even more intense spiritual bonding with the deity.
During the Chandan Yatra festivities, deities at Shri Jagannath Puri Dham are adorned with Sandalwood paste. Several other kinds of sevas are also performed for the deities to provide them with cooling in Summer. (Image Source: Canva)
Chandan Yatra 2025: Rituals
The Chandana Yatra festival, alternatively called Gandhalepana Yatra, is the longest of all the festivals at the Jagannatha temple in Puri, India. The 42-day celebration consists of two halves: Bahara Chandana and Bhitara Chandana. Bahara Chandana starts on Akshaya Tritiya and goes on for 21 days, when construction work for the chariots of the annual Ratha Yatra festival also starts.
In the initial 21 days, symbolic idols of the central deities, such as Madanamohana, Bhudevi, Sridevi and Ramakrishna, and the Pancha Pandava Shivalingas are carried in procession to the Narendra Tirtha tank. The deities are mounted on elaborately decorated boats, Nanda and Bhadra, for a night cruise around the tank. This festive boat ride presents the sacred union of the deities with their followers.
The other 21 days of the festival consist of rituals conducted within the temple. Daily cruises are replaced by the fun ride on four specific days: Amavasya, Purnima, Shashti, and Ekadashi of the bright fortnight. These holy rituals and ceremonies emphasise the prominence of Chandan Yatra in the Jagannatha temple festival calendar.
(Disclaimer: This content includes advice providing generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified spiritual or astrological opinion. Always consult a specialist for more information before adopting any measures.)
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