Every year, millions of devotees come in Puri, Odisha to witness one of Hinduism’s most cherished festivals, the Jagannath Rath Yatra. When Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra start the annual journey from the Shree Jagannath Temple to Gundicha Temple, the streets are filled with chants, prayers and a great deal of faith.
People come from all parts of India to see the centuries-old tradition. Some climb rooftops for a better view; others wait for hours barefoot on the streets to see those massive wooden chariots. Thousands of devotees pull the massive raths with heavy ropes and they feel the rath is a spiritual act of great significance.
But at one time in the midst of all this great celebration was a huge safety issue that, as a tradition, many accepted.
The three giant wooden chariots weigh over 40 tons. For centuries these huge structures had no braking system. Once the chariots got going it was almost impossible to stop them. Even when hundreds of devotees pulled on the ropes to slow them down, the chariots could roll several feet before they finally came to a halt.
And this was dangerous in many cases. Devotees who were too close to them have suffered serious injuries in the past. There are cases of crushed feet and accidents that have been reported over the years. But there was no solution for generations.
One man who believed engineering could serve society would not have that.
The Engineer Who Refused to Ignore the Problem
A retired engineer, Ashwini Kumar Mishra, was among the many devotees who saw the Rath Yatra. A lot of people appreciated the grandeur of the festival but he couldn’t escape the dangers of the huge chariots.
Mishra kept asking himself a simple but powerful question according to Better India:
"If I, an engineer, can’t stop this danger… what’s the point of my education?"
Instead of simply talking about the problem he went on to solve it.
Mishra spent months designing a simple yet effective braking mechanism with sal wood logs, rubber straps and basic mechanical engineering principles on his own without government backing or any official assignment.
He constructed a brake system to gently stop the enormous wooden chariots without damaging their original wheels and after a lot of trial and error he created a brake system that slowly stopped the big wooden chariots.
The mechanism works by a chain-and-pulley system to lower specially designed wooden brake blocks with rubber. Rubber is used as a shock absorber in this way so the chariot is able to slow down safely while protecting its handcrafted wooden wheels.
As Mishra explained:
"Rubber doesn’t tear easily. And it acts like a shock absorber."
Sixteen Years of Selfless Service
What makes his work even more impressive is that he has never regarded it as an invention for profit.
In the last 16 years, Ashwini Kumar Mishra and his small team have traveled to Puri every year to install the braking system on all three Rath Yatra chariots—without charging a single rupee.
For him, the work is not engineering alone— it’s an act of devotion.
"This work of ensuring safety is a service. And that, to me, is true devotion."
He has never wanted to promote or show recognition for what he has done. He has no awards or documents to keep or give to newspaper clippings. His greatest happiness now is he can participate in the sacred procession more confidently and safely.
Engineering Meets Faith
The Jagannath Rath Yatra is a celebration of faith that has continued for centuries. But it also shows how tradition and innovation can coexist.
Ashwini Kumar Mishra’s brake system has quietly become one of the festival’s most important safety innovations. The devotees are more interested in the divine journey of Lord Jagannath but few know that an engineer’s humble invention has made that journey much safer.
His story is a reminder that some of the greatest acts of devotion are not always performed through rituals or prayers. Sometimes they are expressed through knowledge, compassion and the determination to protect others.
