Rathayatra is a journey in a chariot accompanied by the public.
It typically refers to a procession (journey) of deities, people dressed like deities,
or simply religious saints and political leaders. The term appears in medieval texts
of India such as the Puranas, which mention the Rathayatra of Surya (Sun god),
of Devi (Mother goddess), and of Vishnu.
These chariot journeys have elaborate celebrations where
the individuals or the deities come out of a temple accompanied
by the public journeying with them through the Ksetra (region, streets)
to another temple or to the river or the sea.
Sometimes the festivities include returning back to the sacrosanctum of the temple.
