Religious fervour gripped the holy city Puri starting from the morning today ahead of the ‘Snana Yatra’ (ceremonial bath) of the ‘Chaturdha Murti’ (quaternity) which is scheduled to be held later in the day at Sri Jagannath temple here. The ritual marks the beginning of the Annual Rath Yatra festival.
A sea of humanity today thronged Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri to witness the holy bath of the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra along with Sudarshan on Snana Mandap (bathing pandal) of the Srimandir here on the sacred occasion of Deva Snana Purnima, also known as Jyestha Purnima.
This time elder brother Lord Balabhadra was welcomed over to the Sanana Mandap on the Sri Mandir premises
As a part of the ‘Snana Yatra’ rituals, the temple servitors took the holy trinity along with Lord Sudarshan in ‘Dhadi Pahandi’ in the morning. While Lord Sudarshan was the first to get escorted to the bathing dais, he was followed by Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Goddess Subhadra.
As per rituals, the deities will be accorded a bath with 108 pitchers of aromatic water by a group of servitors. After the ritualistic bath, it is believed that the deities suffer from cold and fever.
The idols are then kept away from public view for fifteen days at Anansara Ghara for treatment for which specific rituals are performed. This period of isolation is called Anasara, which means improper time for worship.
The devotees will not get darshan of the lords in the temple for a period of 15 days and all the daily rituals of the temple remain suspended during the period.
On the 16th day, the idols in their youthful forms become ready for public view. The first appearance of the deities after the bathing festival is called Netrotsaba or Naba Jaubana Darshan. which is held a day before the annual Rath Yatra which is scheduled for July 14 this year.
