Devotees Gather for Grand Bathing Ceremony of Lord Jagannath in Puri

Devotees flocked to Puri, Odisha, to witness the formal bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannath. The temple administration brought the three deities - Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra - to the 'Snan Mandap' with great reverence.

 

On this special occasion, millions of devotees, including Odisha's Chief Minister Mohan Chandra Manjhi and other dignitaries, gathered at the 12th-century temple complex to observe the ceremonial bathing ritual held in an open pavilion. According to temple officials, the deities are bathed at the Snan Mandap, located on an elevated area facing Grand Road, allowing devotees to witness the sacred event. An official noted that the ceremony began with the idol of Sudarshan being brought out of the temple and placed on the bathing platform at 5:45 AM. Following this, the idols of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath were also taken to the bathing platform, completing the ritual by 8:55 AM. During this time, the Chief Minister, along with Puri's MP Sambit Patra, entered the temple through the 'Uttar Dwar' and observed the morning prayers and the formal procession of the deities.

 

This festival, known as Dev Snan Purnima, is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Jyeshtha and marks the first occasion in the year when the wooden idols are taken out of the sanctum in a procession and placed in the Snan Mandap for bathing. It is also regarded as the birthday of Lord Jagannath.

 

Another official mentioned that amidst Vedic chants, a total of 108 pots of 'holy water' from the temple's 'Sunkua' will be poured over the idols around 12:20 PM. He added that the King of Puri, Gajapati Maharaj Divyasingh Deb, will formally clean the Snan Mandap around 3:30 PM, after which the deities will be adorned in 'Gaja Vesh'.

 

According to the temple calendar, public viewing or 'Sahan Mela' will be allowed from 7:30 PM. The deities will be taken back to the 12th-century temple, and due to the bathing ritual, they will be kept in the 'Anasara Ghar' for 14 days. The temple's 'Vaidya' will treat them with herbal medicines, and public 'darshan' of the deities will be closed until the 'Nabajouban Darshan' on June 26, a day before the annual Rath Yatra.

 

SP Vineet Agarwal stated that security has been heightened in Puri for this occasion, with the deployment of 70 platoons of police and 450 officers. He mentioned, "We expect millions of devotees to arrive that day, and we have made extensive arrangements for crowd management, traffic regulation, and ground control. Security forces are stationed inside and outside the temple as well as on the beach." The SP also noted that barricades have been set up to ensure smooth movement of devotees during the bathing of the deities. For the first time, police are utilizing AI-based surveillance cameras connected to a new integrated control room for real-time monitoring.