Jagannath Temple, Ahmedabad

The Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad is dedicated to Jagannath and is best known for its yearly Rath Yatra, held on the same day as the chariot festival at Puri and said to be the third largest, after those of Puri and Kolkata. The festival is observed as a Lokotsav, a public festival of Gujarat.

By tradition elephants have the first sight of Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra, and walk at the head of the procession. Before it sets off, the Chief Minister of Gujarat carries out the Pahind Vidhi, a symbolic sweeping of the path before the chariot, and the procession then winds about 14 km through the city. At Saraspur residents serve a Maha Bhoj, a great meal, to the whole gathering of devotees. In 1969 the temple was attacked during communal riots in the city.