| City | Date | Purvahna (morning) Puja time | Tithi (local) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin CET/CEST | Thursday, July 16, 2026 | 5:03 AM – 11:34 AM CEST | Jul 15, 8:22 AM → Jul 16, 5:23 AM CEST |
| Frankfurt CET/CEST | Wednesday, July 15, 2026 | 5:32 AM – 11:55 AM CEST | Jul 15, 8:22 AM → Jul 16, 5:23 AM CEST |
| Munich CET/CEST | Wednesday, July 15, 2026 | 5:29 AM – 11:45 AM CEST | Jul 15, 8:22 AM → Jul 16, 5:23 AM CEST |
Timings are local (DST adjusted). Tithi = begin → end of the festival's tithi in that city.
The tithi prevailing at local sunrise (Udaya tithi).
Skanda Purana (Utkala Khanda): 'Rathe tu Vamanam drishtva punarjanma na vidyate' — seeing Vamana (Jagannath) on the chariot ends rebirth; pulling the chariot gives the fruit of a hundred yajnas; in the Rath Yatra the Lord himself comes among the people — darshan for all without distinction of caste or creed (entry rules apply in the temple, not on the chariot).
The sequence of the Puri Rath Yatra: Snana Purnima (Jyeshtha Purnima — a bath of 108 pots, then the deities fall 'ill' — Anavasara 15 days), Nava Yauvana darshan, Rath Yatra (Dwitiya — Pahandi, Chhera Pahanra — the Gajapati king sweeps the chariots with a golden broom), 7 days at Gundicha (Hera Panchami — Lakshmi arrives sulking), Bahuda (Dashami), Suna Besha (Ekadashi), Adhara Pana (Dwadashi), Niladri Bije (Trayodashi — Jagannath placates Lakshmi with rasgullas).
New chariots every year — of phasi and dhaura wood, Nandighosha (Jagannath — 16 wheels, red-yellow), Taladhwaja (Balabhadra — 14 wheels, red-green), Darpadalana/Devadalana (Subhadra — 12 wheels, red-black); the Nabakalebara (new idols — of neem wood) every 12 or 19 years; Jagannath = Krishna's Daru Brahma form, without hands and feet, large eyes — 'Lord of the universe', sister Subhadra in the middle, the chariot is also a festival of sister and brothers.
No. India: Thursday, July 16, 2026; Berlin (Germany): Thursday, July 16, 2026. The tithi is judged at the local deciding moment, which falls on a different calendar day here.
Purvahna (morning) Puja time: 5:03 AM to 11:34 AM (CEST). Other cities are in the table above.
Each row is in that city's own local time with daylight saving applied (CET/CEST for Berlin).
In the tale Queen Gundicha opened the door before 21 days, the carpenter (Vishwakarma) vanished leaving the idols unfinished; Narada said this very form is worshipful; the philosophical meaning — the form of Brahman is incomplete and infinite, the large eyes = 'Jagannath' who sees all; of neem wood, the Nabakalebara every 12-19 years.
Skanda Purana: pulling the chariot/touching the rope gives the fruit of a hundred yajnas, seeing Vamana on the chariot ends rebirth; the spirit — pulling the Lord with one's own hands, service; if you cannot reach, the rope of the home chariot or the city's Rath Yatra — the spirit is the same.
Hera Panchami — on the fifth day of the Rath Yatra Lakshmi comes to Gundicha in a palanquin, sulks and has a piece of Jagannath's chariot (Nandighosha) broken before returning (a play-leela); Suna Besha — the day after the Bahuda (Ekadashi) the three deities on the chariots in golden hands, feet and crowns — lakhs take darshan; Niladri Bije — entering the temple after placating Lakshmi with rasgullas.
Morning puja of the trinity picture/idol (flowers-Tulsi-lamp), khichdi-dalma-rasgulla bhog, the Jagannath Ashtakam, pulling a small chariot with the children, the city's Rath Yatra/ISKCON or live darshan; daily aarti for nine days, the return bhog on Bahuda — regarded as the full fruit.