Lakhs of devotees gathered in Odisha’s temple town of Puri on Monday to witness Snana Purnima, also known as Deva Snana Purnima, the ceremonial bathing of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister devi Subhadra at the Jagannath Temple.
The annual ritual marks the beginning of the preparations for the famed Rath Yatra, which is scheduled to commence on July 16.
As per tradition, servitors carried the deities from the sanctum sanctorum to the Snana Vedi (bathing platform) in the early hours of Monday during the ceremonial Pahandi Bije procession, accompanied by the sounds of conch shells, gongs and other traditional musical instruments.
The deities were scheduled to be ceremonially bathed with 108 pitchers of fragrant holy water drawn from the temple’s sacred Sunakua (Golden Well) between noon and 2 p.m.
Following the ritual bath, the deities are adorned in the traditional Gajanana Besha, also known as Hathi Besha, in which they are decorated with elephant-shaped masks. They are then taken to the Anasaragruha (isolation chamber), where they remain away from public view.
According to temple tradition, the deities are believed to develop a fever after the ceremonial bath and remain in seclusion during the Anasara period, with access restricted to Daita and Pati servitors. They reappear before devotees in a rejuvenated form during the Naba Jaubana Darshana, ahead of the Rath Yatra.
On the occasion of Snana Purnima, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi visited Puri and offered prayers to Lord Jagannath at the Snana Vedi.
“The wish to have darshan of Lord Jagannath on the occasion of Dev Snana Yatra is fulfilled today. I prayed to the Lord for the well-being of people across the globe, as well as in Odisha, and to make Odisha prosperous. I also prayed for the smooth and hassle-free conduct of the upcoming Rath Yatra festival,” Majhi said.
The Chief Minister later reviewed the ongoing construction of the chariots for the upcoming Rath Yatra.
Puri Police have made elaborate security and crowd management arrangements for the festival. According to Odisha Police, the deployment includes four Commandants/SP-rank officers, 14 Additional SPs/Deputy Commandants, 31 DSPs/Assistant Commandants, 83 Inspectors/Sub-Inspectors, 340 SIs/ASIs, and 79 platoons of police personnel, supported by specialised units, to ensure the smooth and peaceful conduct of the Snana Yatra.
(With inputs from IANS)
