We are very happy to announce that the first ever Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra Rathyatra held in Gwalior City, Madhya Pradesh, India on March 26th 2017 was a raging success by the mercy of the Vaisnavas, Srila Prabhupada and their Lordships. With the blessings of HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj & HG Mahaman Prabhuji, there was an overwhelming response from the pious residents of Gwalior city, most of whom often visit Vrindavan regularly and perform Govardhan Parikrama. All credit goes to the ISKCON Gwalior Rathyatra Committee comprising Praneshwar Das, Madhumangal Prabhu, Rohini Mataji, Akhilesh Prabhu, Nikhil Prabhu, Sangita Mataji, Anandswarupa Prabhu & several other devotees from Gwalior who helped make the event a grand success.
The event started on 23rd March with a 3 day Bhagavat Katha (The first ISKCON Bhagavat Katha in Gwalior) held in the premises of Santana Dharma Mandir, a prime location in the middle of the city and known for Bhagavat Kathas. HG Mahaman Prabhuji mesmerized the audience for 3 days with the glories of Srimad Bhagavatam, the timeless episodes of Vritsasura and Jagannath Katha. The most beautiful Deities of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra had arrived from ISKCON Agra along with the Rath just before the katha started and gave their most munificent darshan to the fortunate souls of Gwalior for 4 days altogether.
During preparations of the Rathyatra, the publicity of the event created a vibrant spiritual atmosphere in the city with flex banners at almost every circle and other prominent locations. The Bhagavat Katha also set the mood rolling, warming up people and gearing them towards participating in the Rathyatra. Finally when the D-Day arrived, more than 130 ISKCON devotees arrived in the morning from various locations such as Indore, Dewas, Mhow, Vrindavan, Agra, Jhansi, Itawa etc. To the delight of the Gwalior vasis, there were also some white-bodied devotees from the western countries holding up flags of various countries giving the Rathyatra a truly international look.
The Rathyatra started in the most prominent location in Gwalior called Bada with welcoming and honoring the chief Guest Sriman S.N. Roopla (Div. Commissioner), who spoke eloquently for few mins, appreciating the great service being done by ISKCON in the whole world. Among the other important guests were HG Mahaman Prabhuji, HH Bhakti Anugraha Janardana Swami Maharaja & HG Brajbhoomi Prabhu. HG Mahaman Prabhuji then spoke on the glories of Rathyatra and how because of Srila Prabhupada, the festival of the chariots became an international festival being celebrated in almost every major city of the world now. After a short Maha Aarti and Chhera Pahara, the more-than-eager ocean of devotees started to pull the Rath. Flags, Festoons, Their Lordships were well received at many different places in the route by eager-to-serve Gwalior donors and general public who served clean water, other cooling beverages, ice cream etc to help devotees combat the scorching heat. Tumultuous kirtan resounded in the streets of Gwalior being very enthusiastically led by several senior devotees including HG Mahaman Prabhuji, HH Janardana Maharaj and others. Hundreds of Srila Prabhupada’s books, pamphlets, Mahamantra stickers & Prasadam packets were distributed during the yatra. After around 4 hours, the Rathyatra culminated in Santana Dharma Mandir and more than 1500 plates of prasadam were served to the devotees. Sri Sri Jagannath , Baladev, Subhadra Maya ki Jai!!!
While celebrating the success of the Rathyatra, Gwalior devotees are looking forward now to the mammoth task of spreading Krishna Consciousness to every home in Gwalior and leveraging the results of the Rathyatra. Devotees wishing to help develop the ISKCON Gwalior project are requested to write to praneshwardas@gmail.com or call/Whatsapp +917389922041.
Photos of the Bhagavat Katha and Rathyatra can be found at https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMJQIDPRHalGR8QfyFDF-Nx19dGu-ehMNF7RS3e
Your servant,
Praneshwar das
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