2015
Saturday, 18 July 2015
In 2015 the tithi runs from 7:40 am on 17 Jul to 8:57 am on 18 Jul; it is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi) on Saturday, 18 July 2015, so that is the day of Rath Yatra.
2016
Wednesday, 6 July 2016
In 2016 the tithi runs from 2:35 pm on 5 Jul to 1:16 pm on 6 Jul; it is running at sunrise (the usual rule, called udaya tithi) on Wednesday, 6 July 2016, 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).