Puri: After the annual bathing rituals, the sibling deities of Jagannath Temple in the pilgrim town of Puri were decked up in Hati Besha (elephant attire) on the auspicious occasion of Deba Snana Purnima on Tuesday.
While Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra donned the Gajanan Besha (white and golden in colour), Devi Subhadra appeared in Padma Besha (lotus flower attire). This Besha is chiefly conducted by the Palia Puspalak, Khuntia, Mekap and Daitapatis. Raghav Das Mutt and Gopaltirtha Mutt supply the materials as per a prolonged tradition.
While the event is being organised with public participation after two years of COVID restrictions, devotees will also get to have darshan of the deities close to the Snana Mandap, an elevated platform on the temple’s eastern side overlooking the Grand Road, for three hours. The daily food offering or ‘Bhogalagi’ will be prepared in full public view.
Legends also has it that the Lords are dressed as Ganesha to satisfy the followers of the Ganapatya sect. Lakhs of devotees 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.
Also Read: Gajanan Besha: When Lord Jagannath & Siblings Take The Form Of Ganesha; Know The Story
Notably, Deva Snana Purnima is a prelude to the annual Rath Yatra.
On this day, which is held on the full-moon day in ‘Jyestha’ month of the Hindu calendar, the deities and Lord Sudarshan are brought out of the sanctum sanctorum in Pahandi (procession) by servitors and taken to the Snana Mandap, where the bathing rituals was performed with 108 pitchers of the water. While 35 pots of water are poured on Lord Jagannath, the Jalabhisek of Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Sudarshan are conducted with 33, 22 and 18 pitchers respectively
The wet clothes are removed and the deities are again decorated with flowers and Tulasi. Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, who is the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, visited the Snana Mandap and performed chhera pahanra (sweeping of the floor), one of the major rituals ahead of Hati Besha, with the priests chanting hymns.
After the ‘Snana Yatra’, the sibling deities will be kept away from public view for 15 days, a period in which they are believed to develop fever due to excessive bathing. This period of isolation is called Anasara. On the 16th day, they would appear in their youthful forms – Naba Jaubana – before embarking on their nine-day annual sojourn.
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