Puri: Braving hot and humid weather, lakhs of devotees Monday witnessed the ceremonial bathing ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, followed by the unique ‘Gaja Besha’ (elephant attire), at the 12th-century shrine in Puri. The ‘Snana Yatra’, one of the most significant rituals in the Srimandir calendar, marks the beginning of the annual Rath Yatra festivities.
As part of the tradition, the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Chakraraj Sudarshan were brought out from the sanctum sanctorum in a ceremonial ‘Pahandi’ procession amid the blowing of conch shells and chants of ‘Hari Bol’ on the occasion of ‘Jyestha Purnima’, also known as ‘Deva Snan Purnima’.
The deities were placed on the elevated ‘Snana Mandap’, allowing devotees gathered on the Grand Road to witness the sacred bathing ceremony. According to Skanda Purana, King Indradyumna, who installed the wooden deities in the shrine, introduced the bathing ritual. The day is also believed to mark the birthday of the divine siblings. After the deities were seated on the bathing platform, servitors performed ‘Mangala Aarti’, the first ritual offering after the opening of the temple.
Amid the chanting of Vedic hymns, the deities were bathed with 108 pitchers of sacred water drawn from the temple’s ‘Su nakua’ (golden well). Lord Jagannath was bathed with 35 pitchers, Lord Balabhadra with 33, Devi Subhadra with 22 and Chakraraj Sudarshan with 18 pitchers.
Following the bathing ritual, Puri’s titular king, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, performed the ceremonial sweeping of the ‘Snana Mandap’. The deities were then adorned with the iconic ‘Hati Besha’ or ‘Gajanan Besha’, symbolising Lord Ganesha. In the evening, devotees were allowed to have close darshan of the deities during the ‘Sahan Mela’ on ‘Snana Mandap’.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, MPs and MLAs, offered prayers at the ‘Snana Mandap’. “I have prayed for the well-being of the people of Odisha and the entire world. Odisha will certainly prosper and contribute to global welfare by the grace of Lord Jagannath,” Majhi said. Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee said all rituals were being conducted smoothly as per schedule.
