According to mythology, the annual Rath Yatra is considered as a journey of the lord Jagannath to bless the downtrodden and weaker section in the society.
However, taking the lord Jagannath’s calendar into consideration, the month beginning from middle of Ashadha to mid of Srabana, is the period of love, elopement, marriage, separation and finally reunion. lord Jagannth is the only deity in the world whose day to day activities are not different from common human beings. like a commoner, lord brushes His teeth and eats at least thrice. like a human being he also takes nap in the day time and goes to bed at night after listening devotional songs.
As lord Jagannath is considered a romantic God, He has the record of tying nuptials with Goddess Rukmini, an incarnation of Maa laxmi, after elopement. The lord’s marriage is being solemnized on Rukmani Ekadashi (This year on June 20) on the Shree Mandir premises. Goddess Rukmani is generally kidnapped on her way near Maa Bimala Temple on the Sri Mandir premises. When Sisupal, the brother of Rukmani opposes his sister’s kidnapping, lord ties him after defeating in a battle. However, Sisupal gets released after intervention of lord Balabhadra, the elder brother of lord Jagannath.
Madan Mohan (symbol of the lord) marries Shree Devi (symbol of Goddess). The ritual is performed according to norms of Hindus marriage. However, the holy union of the lord couple could not be performed as He goes to Snana Madap, barely three days after marriage. The lord falls ill due to excess bathing and He takes rest among his family members (now Daitapatis).
The lord’s newly married wife could not touch him during the illness though their marriage was completed. Their “Chaturthi Homo” is however, completed within three days of the marriage. But, they remain separated as the fourth day of the marriage does not happen. Immediately recovering from illness, the lord along with His elder brother lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra goes on a nine day tour to their aunt’s house at the Gundicha Temple.
As there had been no union of the lord and his wife, Goddess laxmi could not accompany them. The newly married wife of the lord feels pain of separation and gets angry over the development. She married the lord by elopement, but could not stay with Her husband after marriage.