Rath Yatra (Odissa) & Pitha Poda

    RATHA YATRA, the Festival of Chariots: Chariots of Shri Jagannath is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Odisha. The presiding deities of the Jagannath Temple, Puri's main temple, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, with the celestial wheel - Sudarshan Chakra, are removed from the temple in a ceremonial procession to their chariots. The huge, colourfully decorated chariots are drawn by multitude of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha Temple (Gundicha– King Indradyumna's Queen), two miles away to the North. On the way the chariot of Lord Jagannatha, Nandighosa waits near the crematorium of Bhakta Salabega, a Muslim devout to pay him tribute.

    Poda pitha is the state’s most popular sweet made of rice, jaggery, coconut and lentils. It is a tradition for Lord Jagannath to stop at the Mausi Maa temple during bahuda yatra on its way back from Gundicha temple to the Shree Mandir and have a bite of poda pitha before returning to his abode.

Story of Poda Pitha

    There is an interesting history behind the making of this particular poda pitha.Legend has it when Bharat of the Ramayan accused his mother Kaikeyi of forcing Lord Ram to go to the forest, she felt guilty and cried. To pacify her, Ram promised that in his next birth, he would visit her house and have pora pitha. Since then, the Mausi Maa temple is considered that of Kaikeyi who serves the sweet to Lord Jagannath.Gundicha is believed to be the queen of King Indradyumna (the maker of Jagannath temple). It is believed that the Lord was pleased with the queen’s devotions and conferred a boon upon her, promising to visit her palace once a year for a few days’ stay. The residence of Queen Gundicha turned into a temple later. It is beautifully made on the lines of the Kalinga style of architecture. 

    Another legend has it that Gundicha is Lord Jagannath’s aunt, who loves to welcome her nephews every year to pamper them with love and affection. 

    The deities are fed with their favourite offering of Poda Pitha at this time. Bahuda Yatra is the Return Journey of the three chariots to Jagannath Temple. After spending a week inside the Gundicha temple, the deities commence their Bahuda Yatra on the 10th day. The return journey follows the same protocol and schedule, as is found during the Ratha Yatra. During the return journey, the three chariots stop for awhile at the Mausima Temple, also known as Ardhasani Temple. This temple is dedicated to the aunt of Lord Jagannath. Here three deities are offered ‘Poda Pitha’, a special sweet made of rice, coconut, lentils and jaggery. The steam boiled dough is cut into small pieces. The sliced pieces are fried in pure ghee to prepare Podapitha. After taking Poda Pitha, three deities start their journey to the main temple. The chariots of Balabhadra and Subhadra move forward and are parked at Lion’s gate (Singha dwara) of the temple where as the chariot of Jagannath again halts in front of the King’s palace. In the meanwhile Goddess Lakshmi (wife of Lord Jagannath) steals a glimpse of the safe return of Jagannath’s chariot from the Chaha ni Mandapa (Pavilion for view). Being pleased Goddess Lakshmi is carried to the chariot of Jagannath while sitting in the Palanquin. She is offered a loving garland which Lord Jagannath uses as loving souvenir from her partner. After receiving the garland Goddess Lakshmi goes back to the Temple and awaits her partner. This event facilitates Lord Jagannath to make arrangement for his successful entry to the main Temple. On the day of Bahuda Yatra the Deities remain in their respective chariots parked in front of the main temple.

Recipe for Poda Pitha

Ingredients 

300gm Rice 

150gm black gram - without outer skin 

1 cup finely scrubbed coconut 

10-15 small pieces of thin coconut slices 

200gm sugar 

50gm chopped ginger 

½ bowl of cashew nut – broken into pieces 

1 table spoon ghee or refined oil 

½ teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

Method

1. Soak the rice and black gram in water in separate bowls for about 4 hours. Wash them thoroughly. 
2. Put the black gram with water in the grinder and form a fine batter.
3. Do the same with rice too but keep in mind that the batter should be coarse and not as fine as the batter of black gram. 
4. Mix both the batters and add coconut slices, grated coconut, chopped ginger, salt, sugar, cashew nuts and baking powder. 
5. Mix all the ingredients well and keep it covered for about 2 hours for self-fermentation. 
6. Pre-heat the pressure cooker. 
7. Form a thin layer of oil on all the inner surface of the cooker. 
8. Now pour the mixed batter into the cooker and close the lid (without mounting the whistle-weight). 
9. Place the pressure cooker in simmer flame for about one hour. 
10. Now your hot poda pitha is ready. 
11. When the cooker comes to normal temperature take out the pitha carefully, and cut it into desired shapes and serve. (Note: Instead of pressure cooker, oven may also be used).