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June 26, 2010 | Thousands of devotees take part in bathing festival of deities at Puri's Jagannath temple |
Puri (Orissa):Thousands of devotees on Saturday took part in the annual Deva Snana Poornima at the famed temple of Jagannath in Puri, Orissa. Deva Snanna Poornima is observed with utmost
devotion and fanfare ahead of the annual chariot festival known as the Ratha Yatra.
On this full moon day, the deities of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra
and sister Subhadra are taken out of the temple in a ceremonial procession to
the Snana Mandap (bathing canopy) located in the outer enclosure of the temple.
This ritual consists of bathing the deities with 108 pitchers of perfumed water
drawn from the well of Sitala temple. The deities are bathed and dressed up before
being offered the Bhog (food) in full public view. "This is a unique bathing ceremony
of the lords. Throughout the year the three deities, they take Mantra Snana that
is there are three mirrors kept in front of the three deities inside garbhgrom
(sanctorum) and Panchamrat (concoction of five items - milk, ghee, honey, sugar
and curds, reckoned as nectar) is being poured on these three mirrors. They take
bath accordingly," said Satya Swarup, a priest of the Jagannath Temple. "But today,
all the three deities take bath in 108 pots of water," he added. It is believed
that Lord Jagannath suffers from 'cold' and 'fever' following the long bathing
ceremony, and after the Snana Yatra, the images of the deities are kept away from
public view for fifteen days for 'treatment', which once again involves specific
rituals being performed. It is also known as Anabasara, meaning improper time
for worship. All the daily rituals at the temple remain suspended till the deities
recover from illness. It is believed that this occasion is sacred and if one can
see the lord on the Snana Mandap, the devotee attains salvation. "I feel like
ecstatic, I feel joy, I feel love and particularly all the devotees have come
and that mood is also eagerly moving, moving and moving," said Andri, a visitor
from abroad. This year, the world famous Ratha Yatra of decorated wooden chariots
will be held between July 13 and 21. The festival marks the annual journey of
the three deities from the 12th century temple, located 56 kilometres from the
main temple. Earlier, a three-tier security blanket was put in place at Puri to
ensure smooth conduct of the Snana Poornima. |
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