Puri: Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb performed ‘Chera Pahanra’ ritual at Snana Mandap, an elevated platform where the sibling deities of Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town were escorted from the sanctum sanctorum and given a ritualistic bath with 108 pitchers of herbal and aromatic water on Sunday.
Snana Yatra, also known as Deba Snana Purnima, is a prelude to the annual Rath Yatra and held on Purnima (full moon day) of Jyestha month. Of 108 pitchers of water, Lord Jagannath is bathed with 35 pitchers of water, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra with 33 and 22 pitchers of water respectively while Lord Sudarshan with 18 pitchers of water.
After completion of the bathing ceremony, the deities were dressed up in Sada Besha. They will later don the Hati Besha (a form of Lord Ganesha). This Besha is chiefly conducted by the Palia Puspalak, Khuntia, Mekap and Daitapatis on this day. Lord Jagannath is dressed as a black elephant, Lord Balabhadra as a white elephant, and Goddess Subhadra is dressed in Kumari Besha. Raghav Das Mutt and Gopaltirtha Mutt supply the materials as per a prolonged tradition.
Lakhs of devotee throng Puri on this day to have a ‘darshan’ of the sibling deities during the ‘Sahana Mela’ period, as it is believed that it would rid them of all sins.
After Snana Yatra, the deities are traditionally believed to fall ill and are taken to a special place called ‘Anasara Pindi’ or ‘Anasara Ghara’, where they stay away from the public view for a period of 15 days, only to reappear in ‘Naba Jaubana Besh’ on the 16th day.
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