Snana Purnima: Devotees super excided to see Lords’ bath after a 2-year gap
The Snana Purnima aka Devasnana Purnima of Lord Jagannath and His siblings is happening today with full attendance of devotees in Puri after a gap of two years. The divine bath, an important event in the ritual calendar of the Lord, is the first major festival celebrated in Srimandir.
This year, devotees are super excited to see the deities on the Snana Bedi adjoining Srimandir as they were not allowed to see the ritual in person due to Covid-19 restrictions. The snana purnima is a prelude to the annual Rath Yatra.
Following the bath, the deities take ill and go into a 15-day quarantine. After a full fortnight of rest, they reappear to public (Netrotsav) a day before Srigundicha—the first day of Rath Yatra.
Held in the full-moon day of the month of Jyestha, the day carries lots of significance for Odias. The deities, once placed on the bathing platform, are bathed with 108 pitchers of specially treated water.
Following the culmination of bathing ritual, the Holy Trinity is decked up in Gajanana Besha (Hati Besha) atop snana mandap.
The annual bathing rituals of the ‘Chaturdha Murti’ (quaternity)--Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshana were carried out in Puri amid a large number of devotees.
Lord Jagannath and His siblings took the divine bath on Snana Mandap on the auspicious occasion of Snana Purnima.
Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity of Srimandir in Puri along with His siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, enjoys a score of services. Snana Yatra or Deva Snana Purnima or Mancha Snana is one of them.
The stage is all set for the royal bathing ritual of the sibling deities of Puri Jagannath temple on the occasion of Snana Purnima.
As the devotees will be allowed to have darshan of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on the Snana Bedi after a gap of almost two years, the Puri administration anticipates huge footfall of devotees.
Devotees’ wait to have a glimpse of the Holy Trinity seated on the Snana Mandap (Bathing Altar) on the auspicious occasion of Snana Purnima in the holy town of Puri will end on Tuesday, after a gap of two years. The Snana Purnima was observed without devotees’ participation for two years due to the prevailing pandemic situation.