The festival of rathyatra was celebrated with great enthusiasm on 29 June 2014 at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandirs across the Asia Pacific region.
The Rath Yatra festival, popularly known as the procession of chariots, originated in the pilgrimage city of Jagannath Puri. Every year on Ashadh Sud Bij, the deities of Jagannath Mandir, namely Shri Krishna, Balaramji, and Subhadra Devi, are placed in a colorful chariot. Devotees lovingly pull the chariots in a procession through the streets.
During this celebration in BAPS Swaminarayan Mandirs, the small murti of Shri Harikrishna Maharaj is seated in a chariot and is taken around the mandir complex. Devotees pray to Bhagwan Swaminarayan asking Him to guide the chariots of their worldly lives across the ocean-like samsara.