Ratha

Indo Iranian term for a spoked wheel chariot

Ratha (Proto Indo Iranian: *Hrátʰas, Vedic Sanskrit: रथ, ; Avestan: raθa) is the Indo Iranian term for a spoked wheel chariot. The term has been used since antiquity for both fast chariots and other wheeled vehicles pulled by animals or humans, in particular the large temple cars or processional carts still used in Indian religious processions to carry images of a deity.

The Indus Valley Civilization sites of Daimabad and Harappa in the Indian subcontinent, there is evidence for the use of terracotta model carts as early as 3500 BC during the Ravi Phase. There is evidence of wheeled vehicles (especially miniature models) in the Indus Valley Civilization, but not of chariots. According to Kenoyer,

The earliest Copper Bronze Age carts remains that have been found at Sinauli have been dated to 1900 BCE, which were interpreted by some as horse pulled "chariots", predating the arrival of the horse centred Indo Aryans. Others object, noting that solid wheels belong to carts, not chariots.

Horse drawn chariots, as well as its cult and associated rituals, were spread by the Indo Iranians, and horses and horse drawn chariots were introduced in India by the Indo Aryans. The earliest evidence for chariots in southern Central Asia (on the Oxus river) dates to the Achaemenid period (apart from chariots harnessed by oxen, as seen on petroglyphs). No Andronovian chariot burial has been found south of the Oxus.

Chariots figure prominently in the Rigveda, evidencing their presence in India in the 2nd millennium BCE. Notably, the Rigveda differentiates between the Ratha (chariot) and the Anas (often translated as "cart"). Rigvedic chariots are described as made of the wood of salmali (Bombax ceiba; RV 10.85.20), Khadira and Simsapa (RV 3.53.19) trees. While the number of wheels varies, chariot measurements for each configuration are found in the Shulba Sutras. Chariots also feature prominently in later texts, including the other Vedas, the Puranas and the great epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Indeed, most Hindu deities are portrayed as riding them. Among Rigvedic deities, notably Ushas "Dawn" rides in a chariot, as well as Agni in his function as a messenger between gods and men. In RV 6.61.13, the Sarasvati River is described as being wide and speedy like a chariot.

There are a few depictions of chariots among the petroglyphs in the sandstone of the Vindhya Range. Two depictions of chariots are found in Morhana Pahar, Mirzapur One shows a team of two horses, with the head of a single driver visible. The other one is drawn by four horses, has six spoked wheels, and shows a driver standing up in a large chariot box. This chariot is being attacked, with a figure wielding a shield and a mace standing at its path, and another figure armed with a bow and arrow threatening its right flank. It has been suggested (Sparreboom 1985:87) that the drawings record a story, most probably dating to the early centuries BC, from some center in the area of the Ganges–Yamuna plain into the territory of still neolithic hunting tribes. The drawings would then be a representation of foreign technology, comparable to the Arnhem Land Aboriginal rock paintings depicting Westerners. The very realistic chariots carved into the Sanchi stupas are dated to roughly the 1st century BCE.

Ratha or Rath also means a large, often very large, wheeled cart made of wood, on which the murti of a deity is carried in religious processions, some of which are very important festivals. The Ratha may be pulled by devotees with rope, or pulled by horses or elephants. Rathas are used mostly by the Hindu temples of South India for Rathoutsava (Temple car festival). During the festival, the temple deities are driven through the streets, accompanied by the chanting of mantra, shloka or bhajan. Ratha Yatra is a huge Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India during the months of June or July.

In some Hindu temples, there are shrines or buildings named rathas because they have the shape of a huge chariot or because they contain a divinity as does a temple chariot. The most known are the Pancha Rathas (=5 rathas) in Mahabalipuram, although not with the shape of a chariot. Another example is the Jaga mohan of the Konark Sun Temple in Konarâk, built on a platform with twelve sculptures of wheels, as a symbol of the chariot of the Sun.

In Hindu temple architecture, a ratha is a facet or vertical offset projections on the tower (generally a Shikhara).