2L Saplings to be Distributed during Jagannath
Rath Yatra

BY: STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Jul 01, 2011 — VADODARA, INDIA (TIMES OF INDIA) —

Apart from 15 tonnes of 'shira prasad', 2 lakh saplings will be distributed when the 30th annual Jagannath Rath Yatra rolls out on Sunday. Saplings of jambul, neem, banyan, gulmohar, mango and garden plants such as mogra will be distributed as 'taru prasadam' in bio-degradable bags. The devotees will be urged to nurture these saplings as a gift from God.

The sapling distribution is part of the massive preparations by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which has been holding the annual rath yatra since last 29 years.

"The response from citizens, too, has been overwhelming as people from all walks of life will participate in the festival of chariots this year," ISKCON's Baroda president Basu Ghosh das said on Friday. Lord Jagannath along with Lord Balram and Devi Subhadra will make their gala journey in the city on decorated chariots on Sunday, that marks the auspicious day of 'Aashadh Sud Bij' according to the Gujarati calendar.

The Rath Yatra will begin from the railway station at 2.30 pm when mayor Jyoti Pandya will emulate the ancient ritual enacted yearly by Gajapati Maharajah of Puri, in which he symbolically sweeps the road in front of the cart of Lord Jagannath to inaugurate this august event.

The prasad, which is being cooked, will be distributed from four trucks that will move behind the rath. Later, at the ISKCON temple premises, full plates of prasad will be distributed to around 40,000 visitors and life patron members of ISKCON.

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