Bhubaneswar, June 9: Shipra Chowdhury travelled all the way from Bengal to Puri to witness maha snan yatra - one of the pivotal rituals that jumpstarts the more than weeklong rath yatra.
What she witnessed today in the temple town - the deities decked up in Ganesh or Gajanan or hati besha - overawed her. On the occasion of deba snan purnima, the prologue to the world-renowned rath yatra, the deities were decked out in a special avatar after the holy bath.
"This is the most attractive besha of Lord Jagannath. The bhog offered during this time attracts a lot of devotees as well," said Sudeep Mohanty, an expert on Jagannath culture.
Thousands of devotees thronged the Jagannath temple in Puri to attend the rituals of the deba snan purnima, one of the major festivals of Shree Jagannath Temple.
Shipra, 38, a bank employee, attended the festival with her family members. While she is a regular to the chariot festival, this was her first visit on the occasion of deba snan purnima.
"We had come to attend an event at Vishakapatnam and we were supposed to return to Calcutta from there. But, when we came to know that the maha snan yatra festival would be celebrated during this time, we did not want to let go of the opportunity," she said.
Her sister, Deepa, said: "The moment when devotees raised their hands together to seek blessing from Lord Jagannath and His siblings gave me goosebumps. I have never come to Puri during rath yatra. I have no doubt about the magnitude of rath yatra now that I have witnessed the grandeur of this ritual."
According to Jagannath culture, on the auspicious occasion of Jyestha Purnima (full moon day in the month of Jyestha) or deba snan purnima, Lord Jagannath and His siblings emerge from the sanctum sanctorum of the 12th century shrine and take a bath with holy water kept in 108 pitchers at the snan mandap. This day is the last chance for devotees to see the idols from close before the chariot festival, scheduled to be held on June 25.
"The deities are taken to the snan bedi (bathing stage). Here, they are given a holy bath with a mixture of coconut water, scented extracts from flowers and others to bring them respite from the summer heat," said Mohanty.
While the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration has permitted sevayats or servitors to take part in the bathing ceremony rituals, it has made clear that unauthorised people, including devotees and family members of sevayats, would not be allowed to touch the deities. A three-tier security system was put in place to ensure that everyone abided by the rules.
"We have put up posters across the town to sensitise people about not touching the deities. Besides, we have also put up barricades to ensure that no devotee can come near the deities," said Shree Jagannath Temple Administration chief Pradip Kumar Jena.
The general public were allowed darshan from behind the barricades till late in the night after which, following tradition, the deities would fall ill and go into hibernation for a fortnight. Once they recover, the deities would embark on a journey to Mausima Temple - house of their aunt Gundicha - for a nine-day vacation.
Some devotees dressed up as dancers, while others were seen enacting mythological characters to express their devotion to Lord Jagannath during the course of today's festival. The district administration had deployed 45 platoons of police to maintain law and order. Besides, six CCTV cameras were also installed near the bathing altar.
In a related development, the state government today decided not to collect toll fees along the highway between Bhubaneswar and Puri during rath yatra. It has issued a notification in this regard and directed officials to exempt all vehicles from toll fee on special days such as deba snan purnima, navajauban besha, Sri Gundicha Yatra, sandhya darsan, Bahuda and suna besha on June 9, 24, 25, July 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The decision has been taken in anticipation of the huge rush during the festival.
