Jhulan-yātrā – The Swing-Festival of the Lord
In the SkandaPurāṇa there is the following description of the result of seeing ārātrika (worship) of the Deity:
“If someone sees the face of the Lord while ārātrika is going on, he can be relieved of all sinful reactions coming from many, many thousands and millions of years past. He is even excused from the killing of a brāhmaṇa or similar prohibited activities. As we have already explained, there are different ceremonies to be observed, such as the birthday of Kṛṣṇa, the birthday of Lord Rāmacandra, the birthday of some prominent Vaiṣṇavas, the ceremony of Jhulan-yātrā with the Lord sitting on a swing, Dola-yātrā (the Lord’s activities in the month of March), and so on. In all festivals the Lord is seated on a car, and the car moves through different streets of the city so that people may take advantage of visiting the Lord.
In the Bhaviṣya Purāṇait is said: “In such a ceremony, if even a caṇḍāla [dog-eater], simply out of curiosity, sees the Lord on the cart, he becomes counted as one of the associates of Viṣṇu.” RegardingJhulan Yatra Ceremony, during these five days the Deities’ clothing should bechanged everyday, and there should be nice Prasadam distribution and Sankirtana as far as possible.
If you are able to do it, a nice throne may be constructed on which the Deities can be placed. This throne may be swung gently during Kirtana. That will be very good, and surely the Deities will enjoy the function.
Srila Prabhupada letter 1st August, 1969
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