Thousands witness Lord Jagannath's bathing rituals in Puri

Braving hot and humid weather, thousands of devotees gathered at the seaside town of Puri in Odisha to witness Lord Jagannaths Snana Jatra or the bathing rituals at the 12th-century shrine.The sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath -- were brought to the Snana Mandap or the bathing altar of the temple where 108 pitchers of sacred water were poured on them.The water was fetched from the Suna Kua or the golden well in the temple.

Braving hot and humid weather, thousands of devotees gathered at the seaside town of Puri in Odisha to witness Lord Jagannath's 'Snana Jatra' or the bathing rituals at the 12th-century shrine.

The sibling deities -- Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath -- were brought to the 'Snana Mandap' or the bathing altar of the temple where 108 pitchers of sacred water were poured on them.

The water was fetched from the 'Suna Kua' or the golden well in the temple. The water was added with herbal and aromatic essence before pouring in on the deities at 'Snana Bedi'. The festival is also called 'Deva Snan Purnima'.

Gajapati Maharaja or Puri's titular king Dibyasingha Deb performed 'Chhera Panhara' (sweeping) ritual at 'Snana Mandap' immediately after the bathing ritual, said Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher of Jagannath culture.

After the completion of 'Chhera Panhara', the deities were adorned with 'Hati Besa' (elephant attire) at the 'Snana Bedi'.

As per the belief, the deities then fall sick and develop fever due to excess bathing. The ailing deities are taken to 'Anasara Gruha' (isolation room).

The deities would now be quarantined for 14 days at the 'Anasara Gruha'. The devotees are not allowed to visit the deities during this period. Upon their recovery, the deities reappear before the devotees on the occasion of 'Nabajauban Darshan'.

The police made elaborate arrangements for the smooth 'darshan'. Most of the devotees had glimpse of the deities from 'Bada Danda', the grand road in front of the temple.

Sixty platoons (one platoon comprise 30 personnel) of police were deployed in Puri for the smooth conduct of the 'Snana Jatra'.

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