Essay on “Nanda Raj Jat Yatra”
Nanda Raj Jat Yatra is celebrated after every 12 years with great enthusiasm by the people of Kumaun and Garhwal. This festival is celebrated in this region since thousands of years. It is organised under the patronage of the descendants of the king of Garhwal.
Traditionally, a member of the Royal family came to Nauti village on the Basant Panchami day and worshipped the famous ‘Sri Yantra’. It is done to please Sri Yantra, the breath of Divinity. The worship is done with all the Tantric rites and rituals for emission of vital energy and invocation of the spirit of the goddess Nanda to the gold idol.
All this is done to invite Nanda from the Nanda Devi Mountain to visit her ancestral home at Nauti village. After almost half year, she starts her journey to her husband’s abode. During the 22-day long journey, a local fair is organised at the villages which come on the way. In the end, the four-horned ram is worshiped and is asked to bid farewell to all and it walks away along the abode of the goddess and disappears.
