Thousands of people thronged the street in Rupnagar on 14th May 2016 to deliver a very warm reception for Lord Jagannath , Baladev and Subhadra devi for the first time ever, seated on a chariot, in this relatively smaller district of Punjab.
Rupnagar commonly known by name Ropar is located on the banks of the river Sutlej besides Shivaliks. It boasts of one of the richest archaeological site of the Indus valley civilization with records dating back to the period of the Mahabharata. This city is also well known for its Gurudwaras.
Devotees from different parts of India and abroad arrived well in advance to prepare for the festival. The devotees reached every corner of the city with harinam and Prabhupad books, informing locals about the Rath yatra festival.
On the day of Rath yatra entire Rupnagar seemed to be present on the streets. Each and every individual irrespective of his faith came to have darshan of Lord Jagannath, took prasad from the rath and joined in pulling it. The concentration of people on the rope once reminded us of the Puri Rath yatra. The ecstatic nonstop and energetic kirtan along with enthusiastic book distribution made the entire atmosphere extremely vibrant. The occasion was very well beautified by the presence of rangolis and festoons down the lane. Lords rath was also well decorated with most aromatic of flowers. Around 5000 people had darsan of the Lord.
The interest and service attitude the local people displayed can be gauged by seeing the numerous stalls set up to distribute various items like sweet water, pakoras, ice cream, chana, various drinks etc. during the course of the Rath. The festival was concluded with a delicious love feast.
The credit for this Rath yatra goes chiefly to Rangeshwar Das adhikari (Dr. Ramjee Repaka, Associate professor, IIT Ropar, a disciple of H. H. Bhaktiswarup Damodar Swami) along with disciples of Srimad Subhag Swami Maharaj who under the guidance and inspiration from His Holiness arranged for the entire program.
We hope that this Rath yatra is successful in igniting a fire of curiosity in the minds of local people to know more about this very confidential yet most easily obtainable devotional service at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna.
We pray to the devotees for their blessings so that we may be able to spread Prabhupad’s message of Krishna Consciousness in one more town in India.
Jagannath Swami ki Jai
Rath Yatra Mahamahotsava ki Jai
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai
—By Bhakta Aseem
