Snana Purnima Celebrated at Srimandir in Puri

Puri: The sacred Snana Purnima ritual was held at Srimandir, where Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra were bathed in a grand ceremony, drawing lakhs of devotees to the pilgrim city of Puri ahead of the Rath Yatra.

The deities were carried in a vibrant ‘Pahandi’ procession to the Snana Mandap outside the temple’s sanctum. The ritual involved bathing the idols with 108 pots of sacred water infused with sandalwood, camphor, saffron, herbal oils, Terminalia chebula, aromatic flowers, aguru, khus-khus grass, and other fragrant herbs.

Lord Jagannath was bathed with 35 pots, Lord Balabhadra with 33, Devi Subhadra with 22, and Lord Sudarshan with 18, performed with utmost devotion by temple servitors.

Post-ritual, the deities are believed to fall mildly ill and are secluded in the Anasara Ghar for two weeks. During this time, only Daita servitors, hereditary temple priests, perform special healing rituals to restore the deities’ health.