Artisans prepare attire of Gaja-besa adorned by Lord Jagannath and his siblings after the bathing ceremony in Puri. Picture by Sarat Patra

Bhubaneswar, June 14: Lakhs of devotees are expected to visit the Puri Jagannath temple on Wednesday to attend the rituals of the much awaited Deba Snana Purnima, the prologue to the world renowned Rath Yatra.

The event is believed to be one of the major festivals of the Jagannath temple.

According to the rituals of the Deba Snana Purnima, Lord Jagannath and his siblings— Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra — are carried to the Snana Bedi (or the bathing stage). Here they are given a holy bath with coconut water, scented extracts from flowers and others to bring them respite from the heat of the summer.

“The festival is always observed on Jyestha Purnima (full moon day of the Jyestha month of Oriya calendar) and is the first event of the year wherein the idols of the divine siblings are brought outside the sanctum,” said Pandit Surya Narayan Rathsharma, an expert on Jagannath culture.

This year, since the day coincides with a lunar eclipse, the rituals have been planned to begin by 12.30am on Wednesday and the entire procedure is to be completed by 2.53pm.

Devotees will be allowed to make rounds of the temple starting from 3pm in the afternoon to 8pm in the evening. Since the timing of the rituals has been fixed unlike past years, a small debate is said to have erupted among the priests and the temple authorities.

“We have followed the steps similar to the arrangement in 1974 when the event coincided with a lunar eclipse. Only a minute change in the timings has been made and the proposal has been accepted by all members,” said Pradipta Mohapatra, chief administrative officer of the Jagannath temple.

Deployment of heavy security and enforcement of special traffic rules have been initiated by the police, since lakhs of devotees will be visiting the temple on the occasion.

“We have laid down special rules for the regulation of heavy vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers. All traffic posts have been informed of the rules for that will be applicable until Thursday 6am,” said Amitendranath Sinha, superintendent of police, Puri.

“We have also arranged for a special route inside the temple for viewing the deities by devotees in a queue with an exit at the Uttar Dwar,” he said.

As per tradition, the deities would be falling ill owing to fever and will be in hibernation for a fortnight, after which they would start for a vacation to their aunt Gundicha’s house during the Rath Yatra that will be observed on July 3 this year.