Annual Ratha Yatra festival of Lord Jagannatha in Kampala, Uganda.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) held the annual Rath Yatra festival of Lord Jagannatha on Saturday in Kampala.
The event is held annually in July. Rath Yatra involves moving deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshana on a chariot called a ratha or rotho.
The procession led by a band started from the ISKCON Hare Krishna temple on Dewinton road, through Siad Barre avenue before ending at the SSDM temple in Nakasero, where prayers and dinner were held.
With live instruments being played coupled with clapping and dancing, followers chanted “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna-Krishna, Hare-Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama-Rama, Hare-Hare”. Others held onto the ropes attached to the chariot.
It is believed that one touch of the holy rope of Lord Jagannatha’s chariot can free one of all types of sinful reactions,” according to Rajni Tailor, the ISKCON patron.
This year’s local theme was all about the gratitude for helping Uganda go through a peaceful electoral process.
ISKCON was founded in 1966 by His Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and is headquartered in Mayapur village, near Calcutta, India. It draws spiritual sustenance from the Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Blessed One), a most sacred Hindu scripture.