On Jagannath Rath Yatra 2020, Sudarsan Pattnaik pays tribute to Lord with breathtaking sand art creations at Puri beach

New Delhi: The much-revered Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha has begun. The year 2020 has been a tough one for everyone so far with the deadly novel coronavirus claiming millions of lives globally. While Supreme Court's green signal to conduct the Rath Yatra came on Monday (June 22, 2020) but with a caveat that 'no public attendance' during the chariot festival. 

The decision came in the wake of the deadly pandemic and the need to fight it by practising social distancing. 

The famous Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra is also known as the Chariot Festival. Noted sand artiste Sudarsan Pattnaik, who hails from Bhubaneswar paid tribute to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra in his own creative way. 

Check out his beautiful sand art creations of the Lord and the chariot festival: 

Jai Jagannath! May Lord Jagannath bless all on the auspicious occasion of #RathYatra .Mahaprabhu bless all with good heath, joy and prosperity.
My SandArt at #Puri beach in Odisha . pic.twitter.com/TZb6N5y7F8

— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) June 23, 2020

Jai #Jagannath......
Happy #RathYatra2020 My SandArt at #Puri beach . #RathaJatra pic.twitter.com/awJ2OEKOBS — Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) June 23, 2020

Happy #RathYatra . May Mahaprabhu #Jagannath bless everyone with good heath, joy and prosperity. #JaiJagannath pic.twitter.com/BfMMuukQ5h — Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) June 23, 2020

Jai Jagannath! May Lord #Jagannath bless all on the auspicious occasion of #RathYatra . pic.twitter.com/bru76BeFBD — Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) June 23, 2020

It remains one of the most important festivals in the country and Odisha attracts millions of devotees thronging the annual chariot procession just to get one glimpse of the Lord.

The Rath Yatra happens to be a 15-day long festival. It commences on Dwitiya Tithi during Shukla Paksha of Ashada month which happens to fall on June 23 this year.

The Rath Yatra or journey of the chariots has a huge religious significance. During the month of Asadha in June or July, the presiding deities of Lord Jagannath, brother Balabhadra, and sister Subhadra are taken from their Puri temple to Bada Danda and complete the distance of almost 3 km to Shri Gundicha Temple on huge chariots.

While the deities travel on chariots driven by many people, devotees and onlookers pay their obeisance and seek the darshan of the Lord for blessings. The Rath Yatra is also known as the Shri Gundicha Yatra.

The chariots are huge in size, with Lord Jagannath's chariot being approximate of 45ft high, 35ft sq and takes around 2 months to get prepared. The festival happens to be the main attraction of Odisha attracting several tourists every year. 

However, this time to fight the coronavirus pandemic, 'no public attendance' during the Rath Yatra has been ordered by the SC. 

Here's wishing all our readers a very Happy Rath Yatra.

Jai Jagannath!