At Puri situated in Odisha state Chandan Yatra is celebrated as the concluding festival of the cycle comprising a range of religious festivals during the festival of Rath Yatra Puri. This festival starts from Akshyaya Trutiya and takes twenty-one days to last. In accord with its name – Chandan Festival – its inseparable constituents are sandal (chandan) paste and water. The festival is celebrated in the month of Baisakh.
In the Chandan Yatra ndvan Yatra, the deities are taken out of the temples in procession for a holy patrol in water on floats or boats as it is believed that all the land ceremonies must be ended only after the deities have an aquatic sojourn. The extremely opulently decorated floats or boats of the deities are called 'Chapa'. Generally designed in red and white color, the boats mark their resemblance to huge swans floating on water. The richly celebrated 'float' festivals are very common in most of the temples of Vishnu and Shiva, concluding the prime annual festival depicting a great deal of show-off. At Puri situated in Odisha state Chandan Yatra is celebrated as the concluding festival of the cycle comprising a range of religious festivals during the festival of Rath Yatra Puri. This festival starts from Akshyaya Trutiya and takes twenty-one days to last. In accord with its name – Chandan Festival – its inseparable constituents are sandal (chandan) paste and water. The festival is celebrated in the month of Baisakh.