June 22nd 2024.
On a rainy Saturday, in the holy city of Puri, thousands of devoted followers braved the heavy downpour to witness the grand royal bathing ceremony and "Hati Besha" of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balavadra, and their sister Devi Subhadra at the Sri Jagannath temple. This ceremony, known as Snan Purnima, is a significant prelude to the famous Car Festival or Rath Yatra of the lords.
The morning began with the holy triad being escorted out of the "Ratnasinhasan" from the inner sanctum of the main temple to the Snana Vedi, as per the scheduled time of 5:20 AM. The Daita servitors, amidst the chants of "Jai Jagannath," carried the deities in a ceremonial "Pahandi" procession. The air was filled with the sounds of drums, cymbals, bugles, and ghanta as the deities made their way to the bathing altar in the outer temple complex, completing the "Pahandi" at 7:45 AM.
After a series of minor rituals, the bathing ceremony of the deities began at 1:10 PM and continued for about an hour using 108 pitchers of aromatic and herbal water from the temple's golden well. The deities were then dressed in new clothes and offered prayers and arati by Gajapati Dibyasingh Dev during the "chherapahanra" ceremony that took place from 2:35 PM to 3:10 PM.
At 3:20 PM, three sets of servitors began dressing the faces of the deities with colorful elephant masks in a ceremony known as "Haati Beshaa," which was completed by 4:30 PM. While devotees witnessed these rituals, the Badadanda Sahan mela was allowed from 7:30 PM until late at night.
According to legend, a Maharashtrian spiritual leader named Madalapanzi Ganapati Bhutta, who was an ardent devotee of Lord Ganesha, once visited Puri and became frustrated when he couldn't find any signs of Lord Ganesha in Jagannath. As he was preparing to leave, he witnessed the "Hati Beshaa" of Lord Jagannath and entered into a deep trance, feeling that Lord Jagannath was also Lord Ganesha. This year, instead of the regular three bhogs, the deities were offered a single bhog consisting of 39 items.
Late in the night, the deities were taken to a solitary place in the temple called the "Anasar House" in a similar "Pahandi Bije" procession, where they would rest for thirteen days, suffering from fever after the holy bath. During this time, the deities were offered fruits, and images of them were fixed on the outer wall of the "sick room," known as "Patti dian," to whom bhog was offered. This year, as per the temple almanac, the "Anasar" period was reduced to thirteen days instead of the usual fifteen.
During these thirteen days, the deities were treated with herbal medicine by the temple Vaidya, and they were served fruits by the Daita servitors. Public darshan of the deities was not allowed during this time. According to legends, Lord Jagannath manifests as Alarnath deb during this period, and devotees rush to the Alarnath temple, 23 km away from Puri, to have darshan of the deity and receive Kheer Prasad. The deities would give public darshan after fourteen days, known as Nabajouban darshan, a day before the annual Rath Yatra.
For the ritual, about 68 platoons of police and other security personnel were deployed, with District Magistrate Sidharth Shankar Swain, Superintendent of Police Pinak Mishra, and Temple Chief Administrator Vir Vikram Yadav overseeing the arrangements. Devotees had to pass through metal detectors at the main gate of the temple, manned by armed police contingents, to enter and exit the temple premises.
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