Lakhs congregate in Puri to witness Lord Jagannath’s bathing rituals

Puri: Lakhs of devotees, including Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other dignitaries, gathered here on Wednesday to witness Lord Jagannath's ceremonial bathing rituals, held in an open pandal on the premises of the 12th-century temple.

On the occasion, three deities - Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra - were brought to the 'Snana Mandap' (bathing altar) with ceremonial ‘pahandi’ (procession), officials of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said.

The deities are bathed on the ‘Snana Mandap’ (bathing altar), the elevated pedestal facing the Grand Road where devotees get the opportunity to witness the bathing rituals, they said.

"Shree Sudarshan was first brought out of the shrine and taken to the bathing altar at 5.45 am. After that, idols of Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath were taken to the bathing altar," an official said.

The 'Pahandi ritual' was completed by 8.55 am, he said.

Accompanied by Puri MP Sambit Patra, the chief minister entered the temple through the 'Uttara Dwara' (northern gate) and witnessed the morning prayers and the ceremonial procession of the deities, another official said.

The festival, known as Deva Snana Purnima, takes place on the full moon day in the month of Jyestha, and this is the first occasion in a year when the wooden idols are brought out of the sanctum sanctorum in a procession and placed on the 'Snana Mandap' for the bathing rituals.

It is also considered the birthday of Lord Jagannath.

Amid chanting of Vedic mantra, altogether 108 pitchers of ‘sacred water’ from the ‘Sunakua’ (golden well), located on the temple premises, will be poured on the idols around 12.20 pm on Wednesday, another official said.

Soon after Puri titular king Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb would perform ceremonial sweeping of the 'Snana Mandap' around 3.30 pm, the deities will be adorned with “Gaja Vesha” (attire of elephant God), he said.

‘Sahan Mela’ or public darshan will be allowed from 7.30 pm, the temple calendar said.

The deities will be taken to the 12th-century shrine and remain in 'Anasara Ghar' (isolation room) for 14 days as they fall ill after having the bath.

The temple 'Baidya' (physician) would treat them with herbal medicines, and public ‘darshan’ of the deities will remain closed till 'Nabajouban darshan' till June 26, a day prior to the annual Rath Yatra on June 27. PTI AAM On the occasion, security has been tightened in Puri with deployment of 70 platoons (1 platoon comprises 30 personnel) of force and 450 officers, said SP Vinīt Agarwal.

“We expect a congregation of lakhs of devotees on the day and have made elaborate arrangements for crowd management, traffic regulation and ground control. The forces are deployed inside and outside the temple and at the seaside,” the SP said.

The SP said that barricades have been erected to manage the smooth movement of devotees during the ceremonial bathing of the deities.

"For the first time, the police are using the AI-based surveillance cameras, linked to a new integrated control room, for real-time monitoring," he added.