2004
Saturday, 19 June 2004
In 2004 the tithi runs from 4:23 am on 19 Jun to 6:40 am on 20 Jun, so it is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi) on two days, Saturday, 19 June 2004 and Sunday, 20 June 2004. As in most almanacs, the first is taken.
2005
Friday, 8 July 2005
In 2005 the tithi runs from 7:45 pm on 7 Jul to 10:07 pm on 8 Jul; it is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi) on Friday, 8 July 2005, so that is the day of Rath Yatra.
How the date is fixed
Rath Yatra falls on the second day of the bright half of the lunar month Ashadha (Shukla Dwitiya). The date is the day on which that tithi is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi).
About
Rath Yatra falls on the second tithi of the bright half of Ashadha, in June or July. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are drawn on three chariots from the Puri temple to the Gundicha temple, where they stay for a week before the return journey (Bahuda Yatra) on Dashami. The tithi at sunrise fixes the day, and the Puri temple's own almanac is the final authority for the hour of pulling. Ahmedabad, Kolkata and ISKCON centres hold their own processions on the same day.
How it is observed
Pulling the chariots by rope, darshan of the deities on the chariot, and the Gajapati king's ritual sweeping (chhera pahanra).