Saturday 24 June 2023, from 10.00am
The Festival of Chariots is coming to Liverpool again! Over the last 15 years, Liverpool has been hosting this exciting event which attracts people from all over Greater Sydney and as far as Newcastle. A fun day filled with colour, song, celebration and food brings the community together in a spirit of harmony and peace. Please come and join us at Bigge Park in Liverpool on 24 June at 10am.
The day kicks-off in Bigge Park with our Mayor and local MPs inaugurating the festival. After some music and dance performance, the moment for showcasing the chariot arrives.
The origins of Festival of Chariots, or also commonly referred to as the Ratha Yatra are described in India’s ancient Vedic literature originating in the Orrisan city of Puri. It is now commonly referred to as the Festival of Chariots after the famous “Hare Krishna Movement” founder-acharaya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada brought it to the west, with San Francisco being the first city outside of India to host the Ratha Yatra in 1967. Since then, cities all over the world are celebrating this ancient yet contemporary tradition which brings together people from different backgrounds, regardless of their race, religion, colour or creed.
In Puri, the carts, containing the deities of Sri Jagannath, Baladeva and Srimati Subhadra Devi are then pulled on long ropes by the festival goers for some miles to the Gundicha Temple and, after nine days they are returned to their home in the Jagannath Temple. The British remarked at the marvel of the unstoppable chariots and called it the juggernaut (after Jagannath) which explains the origin of the word. Jagannath is no other than the world-famous Lord Krishna and His brother and sister are manifested as Sri Baladeva and Srimati Subhadra Devi.
Here in Australia the Festival of Chariots has its origins in a great parade held in Melbourne in 1972. This tradition has continued with many cities around Australia hosting the festival. In Liverpool, the festival has been celebrated annually for the last 15 years. The sound of the kirtan, drums, cymbals, singing and dancing on the streets of Liverpool city would be a familiar site for most of us. Customers and shopkeepers pour out onto the streets to see the wonder. The large chariot dressed in colourful canopies is pulled by festival goers from Bigge Park through Moore Street doing a short 45-minute loop around the city, finishing back in Bigge Park for a FREE sumptuous hot traditional feast!
You all are welcome – free admission, free lunch and have a fun-packed day! Bring along your friends and families.
For further information, contact:
Jitendra Diwakar (Govardhan Das) on 0411 952 551
President, Festival of Chariots
When: Saturday 24 June 2023
Where: Bigge Park, Bigge Street, Liverpool
Time: Starts from 10.00am
Ratha Yatra – Festival of Chariots – Liverpool, NSW added by Indian newspaper Sydney on
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