Puri Rath Yatra: Snana Purnima On June 22; No Nabajaubana Darshan, Chariots To Be Pulled Over 2 Days

Puri: As preparations for Deva Snana Purnima on June 22 begins in Puri, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has sought the cooperation of Chhatisha Nijoga sevayats for smooth execution of rituals starting from Rajendrabhishek on June 17.

At the Chhatisha Nijoga meeting held on Friday to plan for bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on Jyestha Purnima, besides approval given for timings of the rituals, stress was also laid on how the rituals would be executed smoothly.

According to SJTA sources, pahandi on Snana Jatra day would be held between 4 and 6 am followed by other rituals. The chhera pahanra will be held at 2 pm followed by Hatibesa at 2:40 pm, sahanamela darshan from 6:30-9:30 pm, bahuda pahandi from 10:30 pm-1 am, and suna chita and rahurekha mailam niti at 1:30 am.

However, there may be changes in the timings depending on time taken for rituals conducted on the day, SJTA sources said.

“As the temple is likely to see lakhs of devotees on the day of Snana Purnima, SJTA is making all necessary arrangements,” informed SJTA chief administrator Vir Vikram Yadav.

Like every year, after the ceremonial bath on Snana Jatra, the sibling deities will stay inside the Anasara chamber till Rath Yatra and will not be available for darshan of devotees, but the Anasara Pakhya this year will be for 13 days instead of 15 and end on July 6. Likewise, ‘Nabajaubana Darshan’, ‘Netra Utsav’ and the ‘Rath Yatra’ fall on one day – July 7.

The chariots will be pulled for a short distance on July 7 for the sake of ritual and taken to the Shree Gundicha temple on July 8. And this will be happening after a gap of 53 years. The last such arrangement was seen in 1971 in view of a specific celestial arrangement.

Usually, a day before Nabajaubana, the Agyanmala of the Lords is brought out for the chariots to be pulled towards the Lions Gate. This year, Agyanmala of Pati Dian will be brought for the chariots to turn towards the temple on July 6 since the sibling deities will still be inside the Anasara Ghara. Which is why the devotees will not be able to see the sibling deities in the ‘Nabajaubana’.

“Since Nabajaubana and Rath Yatra are on the same day, there will be little time left for the servitors to carry out Sriranga Seba which is a gupta (secret) ritual, Netra Utsav and many other rituals before they proceed on Rath Yatra. Which is why Nabajaubana darshan will not be allowed this time,” Daitapati servitor Binayak Dasmohapatra told TNIE.

He added that the deities will be brought to the chariots in Pahandi at 2.30 pm on July 7 and the pulling of chariots can only start around 7 pm or 8 pm after other rituals, including Cherra Pahanra, which will take another three to four hours. “The chariots will be pulled only for a short distance on the day and then again till the Gundicha temple the following day. So, this year, devotees will get an opportunity to pull the chariots twice,” he added.