Puri: Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra appeared in “Hati Besha” (elephant attire) on Snana Madap in Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri on the occasion of Snana Purnima on Saturday.
Puti king Dibyasingha Deb performed the “Chhera Panhara” (sweeping the floor) ritual on the Snana Mandap after the sibling deities were given grand bath earlier.
The deities took bath with flavoured water brought from “Suna Kua” (golden well) on the temple premises. The well, located between the temple of Sitala Thakurani and lion statue, remains unused throughout the year. The water from the well is purified before being taken to Snana Manap for bathing the deities.
The water was taken in 108 pitchers to be poured on the three deities. While 35 pitchers were poured on Lord Jagannath, 33 were used for Lord Blabhadra, 22 for Devi Subhadra and 18 pitchers for Lord Sudarshan.
As per practice, the authorities of Raghab Das and Gopal Tirtha mutts in the Pilgrim Town provide the elephant attire for the deities.
Thousands of devotees thronged Bada Danda (grand road) to have darshan of Lord in the elephant attire. The local administration had elaborate arrangements for smooth and incident-free darshan by the devotees.
As per rituals, the deities will fall sick after the grand bath and remain confined to Anasara Gruha (resting room) for treatment for 14 days. The devotees are not allowed to have their darshan during the period.
On recovering from illness, the deities reappear in Nabajauban Besha and go on nine-day sojourn to Gundicha temple during Rath Yatra.
