Puri: Thousands of devotees had darshan of ‘Hati Besha’ (elephant attire) of the sibling deities of Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri on the occasion of Snana Purnima on Sunday.
As per tradition, the deities were taken in ceremonial ‘Pahandi’ (grand procession) from Ratna Mandap in sanctum sanctorum of the temple to the Snana Mandap on its premises at around 7 pm. The procession was delayed by 50 minutes.
Then different rituals including Dwarapala Puja, Surya Puja, Rosahoma, Abakasa, Adharapochha and Mailam were performed. The servitors took 108 pitchers of holy water from Suna Kua (golden well) in the temple to the Snana Mandap. Different herbs and aromatic essence were added to the water before pouring it on the deities.
After Deva Snana (bathing of Lords), next rituals were delayed as blood stain was found on the Snana Mandap and Mahasnana of the deities was performed. After this, Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb performed ‘Chhera Panhara’ ritual on Snana Mandap. It was followed by dressing of the deities in Hati Besa (elephant attire) on the Mandap.
In order to witness the Snana Yatra of the deities on the day, thousands of devotees from across Odisha and outside had gathered on the Bada Danda (Grand Road) since morning. Besides being an auspicious day, the sibling deities will not give darshan to the devotees from tomorrow as they will fall sick and remain confined to ‘Anasara Ghara’ (sick room) in the temple for 14 days.
For the convenience of the devotees, the district administration installed barricades and sheds on the Grand Road. In order to ensure hassle-free darshan and ensure law and order, the administration deployed 60 platoons of police force in the town during the Snana Jatra.
