Snana Purnima: Devotees To Be Allowed Darshan Of Puri Jagannath In ‘Gajananana Besha’ For Three Hours

Puri: The devotees will have the opportunity to witness Lord Jagannath and his siblings in Gajanana Besha on the day of Deba Snana Purnima scheduled on June 14. The darshan will open for public for more than three hours in the evening.

The decision was taken at the meeting of Chhatisha Nijog Committee here on Wednesday. The meeting was presided over by chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Vir Vikram Yadav and attended by members of the Chhattisa Nijog.

At the meeting the points proposed by the Datapati Nijog during a meet last week were finalised. As the Snana Jatra will be held this year with public participation after a gap of two years, devotees will be allowed atop the bathing altar for three hours after Hati Besha, but they cannot touch the deities. Moreover, the sebayats will not allowed to stand in front of the deities  blocking darshan, said Ramakrishna Das Mohapatra of Daitapati Nijog.

On June 14 the pahandi of the Lord will commence at 4 am and completed by 6 am. The ‘Jala Bije’ niti will be performed between 9.30 am and 11.30 am while the deities will be decorated in elephant attire (Hati Besha) between 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm.

It has been decided to allow public darshan from 6 pm to 9.30 pm. The bahuda of deities from Snana bedi will begin at 10 pm and other rituals are slated to begin 10.30 pm, said Gaurahari Pradhan, senior servitor.

In the meeting the Chhatisha Nijog niti subcommittee the schedule for different festivals related to the temple, from Debasnana Purnima to Niladri Bije, have been approved.

Apprehending huge rush for the annual events, adequate security arrangements have been made.