10 Points to Know about today & subsequent rituals👇 (SAVE FOR LATER REFERENCE TOO!)
1) Snana Jatra or Bathing Festival of Lords is celebrated on the Full moon (Purnima) day of Jyestha Month of Hindu Calendar. This is also the birthday of Lord Jagannath!
2) The Sibling Deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra & Subhadra are taken out of Sanctum Sanctorum to 'Snana Mandap'/'Snana Bedi' (bathing platform) inside 12th Century Shrine of Puri Jagannath Temple.
3) Before bath they wear simple "Dhala Bastra" or white color thin cotton drapes.
4) They are poured with 108 pots of ritually purified water drawn from northern well ('Suna Kuan' or Golden Well) of Temple, scented with sandalwood & other herbs.
5) Total 35 pitchers of water for Lord Jagannath, 33 for Lord Balabhadra, 22 for Debi Subhadra and 18 pitchers for Sudarshan are used. Thus 108 pitchers.
6) After bath, the Deities are dressed in ରକ୍ତ ବସ୍ତ୍ର (Rakta Bastra) or red Khandua weaves and 'Chhera Pahanra' ritual is done by Puri Gajapati (King) or His representative in case he can't attend.
7) Later the deities are dressed up in "Gajanana/Hati/Ganesha Besha", the get-up & ornaments for which have been made by Raghabadasa Mattha & Gopalaballabha Mattha.
8) It is believed the Lords fall ill after bath and thus kept in isolation (Anasara Ghara) for a fortnight. They undergo Ayurvedic treatment until they recuperate fully for Ratha Jatra (this year on July 12).
9) While main deities remain out of bounds during 15 days, their representative Pattachitra images painted on Tussar are worshipped. These "Patti Dians" or Pattachitra paintings of Lord Jagannath as Ananta Narayan, Maa Subhadra as Bhubaneswari and Lord Balabhadra as Ananta Basudev are worshipped in Jagannath Temple.
10) During Anasara period, devotees head to Alarnatha Mandir in Brahmagiri, Puri district, believing that Jagannatha manifests as Alarnatha during this period. Watch this auspicious Ceremonial Bath at #Puri, #Odisha & then their #Gajanana #Besha #live here: https://www.shreejagannatha.in/snana-yatra/ #iwearodishahandloom #khanduasilk is intricately linked to Lord Jagannath.
