Puri: Lakhs of devotees congregated at Puri Sri Mandir to witness the Snana Yatra ceremonial bath rituals of Lord Jagannath and his divine siblings.

The 'Snana Yatra' ceremony of the three deities Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Goddess Subhadra drew people from across the state and outside.

Amid tight security and imposition of a ban on touching the deities, the ceremonial bathing was conducted at the 'Snana Mandap' (bathing altar) as priests poured 108 pitchers of sacred water on the holy trinity.

The bathing ritual is celebrated as a run-up to the annual 'Rath Yatra' of Lord Jagannath.

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As per the ‘Skanda Purana,’ King Indradyumna, who installed the wooden deities of the Lords, bathed the deities before they were worshipped in the 12th century shrine. The Lord's bathing also indicates arrival of monsoon in Odisha.

Earlier in the morning, the deities along with the idol of 'Sudarshan' were carried from the sanctum sanctorum in a procession or Pahandi to the Snana Bedi, located on the temple premises.

After the bathing ritual, the deities were decorated in the 'Gajanana Besha' or elephant attire. It is believed, Lord Jagannath takes the elephant attire to please his Maharastrian devotees who worship Lord Ganesh.

Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) 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.

While 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 implementing High Court order," Jena said.

Around 100 CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the bathing ritual of the deities including six on the Snana Mandap.

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 have been 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.

(With inputs from PTI)