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The Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath held in Puri, Odisha is not just a religious festival but a tradition associated with many mythological beliefs and emotional events. Every year on the second date of Ashadh Shukla Paksha, Lord Jagannath along with his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra leaves the Sri Mandir and goes to Gundicha Temple.

In the year 2026, this holy journey has started from 16th July. There is a religious belief that Gundicha Temple is the house of God’s aunt. But have you ever wondered why Queen Gundicha is called God’s aunt? There is an interesting mythological story behind this.

Devotion of King Indradyumna and severe penance of Queen Gundicha

According to the story, Indradyumna, the famous king of Utkala Built a grand temple of Lord Jagannath. Now the most important work was the consecration of the idols of God. Then Devarshi Narad told the king that only the creator Brahma could perform this divine ritual. After this, King Indradyumna got ready to go to Brahmaloka. Before going to Brahmaloka, Queen Gundicha resolved to wait for her husband. She handed over the responsibility of governance to capable people and herself immersed herself in deep penance and samadhi, so that her meditation continued till the return of the king.

When I returned from Brahmalok, the whole world had changed.

According to mythological belief, the time of Brahmalok is different from that of Earth. By the time King Indradyumna returned to earth with Lord Brahma, many eras had passed. Puri was now ruled by a new king Galu Madhav and due to the influence of time the Jagannath temple was buried under the sand. After some time, a part of the temple became visible due to the severe storm. After this the excavation work started. Meanwhile, King Indradyumna also reached there. There was confusion regarding the rights of the temple, but Hanuman ji took the form of a saint and made everyone aware of the truth. Ultimately, King Indradyumna’s claim was proved correct when the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was identified.

Rani Gundicha’s penance completed

On the other hand, Queen Gundicha had a divine feeling of her husband’s return and her trance ended. When he opened his eyes, there was a devoted couple standing in front of him, who were worshiping him considering him as a goddess. The queen introduced herself to him and expressed her desire to go to Sri Mandir. On reaching the temple, King Indradyumna and Queen Gundicha were reunited after years. King Galu Madhav also respected him after knowing the entire incident and handed over the rights of the temple to him.

God gave respect to ‘Aunty’

After this, Lord Brahma completed the consecration of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra as per the rituals. On this occasion, Lord Jagannath was pleased with Queen Gundicha’s penance, patience and dedication and bestowed her with special honours. God said that just as a mother waits for her son, you have waited for me. Therefore, from today onwards you will be called my aunt and I will definitely come to meet you every year. With this blessing Gundicha temple became the place of annual stay of the Lord. Since then, the tradition of Rath Yatra is going on, in which Lord Jagannath along with his brother and sister reaches Gundicha temple and remains there for a few days.