Thousands witness Snana Yatra of deities in Puri

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Puri, June 9: Amid tight security and a ban on touching the deities, the ceremonial bathing (Snana Yatra) ritual of Lord Jagannath was performed at the Jagannath temple here in the presence of thousands of people.
The ‘Snana Yatra’ ceremony of the three deities – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra – was witnessed by people, drawn from across the state and outside, at the ‘Snana Mandap’ (bathing altar) as priests poured 108 pitchers of aromatic water on them.
The bathing ritual is celebrated as a run-up to the annual Rath Yatra (car festival) of Lord Jagannath. The day, the full-moon day of the month of ‘Jyestha’, is considered the birthday of Lord Jagannath.
The legend from the Skanda Purana says that King Indradyumna, who installed the wooden idols, bathed the deities before they were worshipped in the 12th Century shrine. The Lord’s bathing is believed to attract monsoon in the state.
Earlier in the morning, the deities along with the image of Sudarshana were taken out from the sanctum sanatorium in a procession to the bathing pulpit on the temple premises.
Servitors poured 33 pitchers of water on Lord Jagannath, 30 pitchers on Lord Balabhadra and 27 pitchers on Devi Subhadra during the bathing ritual. Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb performed the customary ‘Chherapanhara’ on the Snana Mandap. The bathing ritual of the deities was delayed by two hours due to late performance of some daily rituals at the temple, sources said.
After the bathing ritual, the deities were attired with ‘Gajanana Besha’ (elephant attire). Lord Jagannath takes the elephant attire to please his Maharashtrian devotees who worship Lord Ganesh.
According to Srimandir tradition, deities would be kept inside ‘Anasara Ghara’ (asylum for sick) after the completion of Snana Purnima and Hati Besha rituals. It is believed that deities catch fever after they are bathed by the servitors on the Snana Mandap.
Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has made elaborate arrangement for the festival with a decision not to allow any person, except the servitors on duty, to touch the deities when they come out of the main temple as per the Orissa High Court direction.
When a section of priests have been demanding to touch the deities during the festival, SJTA Chief Pradeep Kumar Jena said that no unauthorised person was allowed to touch the deities except the servitors on duty. “We are following the High Court order,” Jena said.
Around 100 CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the bathing ritual of the deities.
An arrangement has been made for public viewing of the ritual from behind barricades till late in the night.
As many as 45 platoons (one platoon comprise 30 personnel) of jawans and a large number of policemen were deployed for the safety and security of pilgrims and the deities.
Police patrolling has been beefed up with special focus on regulation of vehicular traffic, said Sarthak Sarangi, Superintendent of Police, Puri.
According to sources, police detained two devotees who tried to touch the deities during Pahandi procession. PNN/PTI