Debasnana Purnima marks the onset of one of the biggest festivals in the culture of Odisha for the year: the Ratha Jatra. On the day of Snana Purnima, the idols of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Balabhadra are removed from the Jagannath Puri Temple’s ‘Ratnasimhasan’ early in the morning. A procession is held in front of hundreds of devotees, and the idols are transported to the ‘Snana Bedi’ or bathing altar.

The Ratha Yatra begins with the Chandana Yatra on Akshaya Tritiya. Chandana Yatra kicks off the Gods’ lake visits to beat the summer heat and also marks the start of Ratha building. The Chandana Yatra lasts 42 days and ends on Jyestha Purnima or Snana Purnima. “Snana Purnima,” also known as “Deva Sanana Purnima” or “Mahaoti Jeshta Snana Purnima,” is a significant rite in the Puri Jagannath temple  and a stride advancing towards the annual Shri Gundicha Ratha Yatra .

Religious Significance

Devotees of Lord Jagannath believe that if they make a visit to meet the deity on this day, they will be cleansed of all their sins. On this day, hundreds of thousands of worshippers flock to the temple.According to mythology, the Deva Snana Purnima commemorates Lord Jagannath’s birth. According to the Skanda Purana, King Indradyumna organized the first bathing celebration when the idols of the Deities were put in the Srimandira for the first time.

According to legend, when the temple of the Lord of the Universe was to be inaugurated, Brahma was summoned from Heaven. Brahma, Bidyapati, Biswa Basu, Indradyumna, and Devi Gudicha were all standing outside the temple door. Brahma and Bidyapati represented the Brahmanas; Biswabasu represented the Shabaras; Indradyumna represented the Royal fraternity; and Gundicha represented the Female fraternity.

Lord Jagannath himself mentions Snana Purnima as one of the three most auspicious days. Shri Jagannath’s bathing festival is held on the full moon day of Jyestha, when the Divine Trio bathes in public. It is also the first yearly rite of the year, when the idols of Shri Sudarshana, Shri Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Shri Jagannath are removed from the devout sanctum sanctorum from the ‘Ratna Singhasana’ and set on the ‘Snana Mandap’- the bathing podium for public display.

Ceremonies Conducted

On the eve of the Snan Yatra (Which means the Bathing festival, in Sanskrit), the idols of the deities are brought out in a grand procession from the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) to the Snan Bedi (bathing platform). Devotees come to view the deities.

The Gods are brought out in the following sequence.

“Sudarsana Puraskrutyo

Balarama Tatoparaha

Subhadra ch tato nitywa

Jagadisha Sureshwara”

–Bamadeva Samhita

The above lines mention the sequence in which the Gods are brought out of the Garvagriha for the Bathing ceremony. Shri Sudarshana comes out first followed by Shri Balaram; then comes Devi Subhadra and finally Shri Jagannath reaches the bathing podium. 

Shri Sudarshan and Devi Subhadra are both Shunya or Shakti representatives, and their Phandi Procession involves lifting the statues and depositing them on bathing dais. Shri Sudarshana is carried to the Snana mandapa on the backs of twelve Daita Sevayats. Devi Subhadra is also hoisted and carried. The idols of Shri Balaram and Shri Jagannath are gently carried from Ratna Singhasana to Snana Mandapa in a swaying rhythmic walking technique.

The Deities are carried out of the sanctum in a ritualistic procession called ‘Pahandi Vijaya’ on Chaturdashi, a day before the Jyestha Purnima bathing. The Gods’ bathing water is collected from the ‘Suna Kua,’ a golden spring near the Uttara Dwara (North gate). This well’s water is only used once a year, on the festival of Snana Purnima. Turmeric, entire rice grains, sandal paste, Ushira, flowers, and other herbs are infused into the water. The ritualistic water is then carried in procession to the Snana Mandapa, which is located at the north-east corner of the Srimandira’s Bahara Bedha (outside enclosure). The Gods’ Jala Abhisekha is accompanied by mantra recitation from the ‘Pavamana Sukta’, as indicated in the Rig Veda, along with the beating of metal gongs and to the sound of shrill conches.

Shri Jagannath is bathed with thirty-eight pitchers of water, Shri Balaram with thirty-two pitchers, Devi Subhadra with eighteen pitchers, and Sudarshana with eighteen pitchers. One hundred and eight pitchers of water are poured on the Gods. The Pujapanda, Singhari, and Garabadu servitors rinse the Trinity with one hundred and eight urns of water in the presence of Gajapati Maharaj. Thousands of worshippers attend the full bathing procedure. After the ceremonial bath, the Gods are dressed as Ganapati in either the Gajanana Vesha or the Hathi Vesha. Shri Balabhadra and Shri Jagannath’s idols are adorned with an elephant head tiara with an extended trunk and large triangular ears. Devi Sudhadra is dressed in the lotus outfit. The Hathi Vesha is one of the most beautiful costumes of the Gods. It is said that a glimpse of the Gods in the Gajanana Vesha brings good fate to His devotees.

Elephant Form ( Gajanana Vesha) of Lord Jagannath and Baladeva

On the day of the Snana, Lord takes on the form of an elephant in the evening. The following is the story: Ganpati Bhatt, a respected Brahma worshiper who determined after reading all the scriptures that getting Darshan of Parma Brahma liberates a living thing. According to the texts, Parma Brahma lives in Jagannath Puri. But somewhere in his mind, he had it in his head that Parma Brahma had a proboscis. So, when he went to Jagannath Puri for Darshan of the Lord on Jyeshtha Purnima and noticed that Lord Jagannath did not have a proboscis, he concluded that he could not be a Parma Brahma.

Ganpati Bhatt then pondered how, if Jagannath had been a Parma Brahma, those who had Darshan of the Lord could return? They must be set free. He started from there, thinking about everything. When Lord Jagannath saw this, he became sad and assumed the guise of a Brahman and approached him. Lord, and convinced him that Jagannath is the only one he has come to see. Brahman, in the avatar of the Lord, told Ganpati Bhatt to go back and look. When he returned, Lord Jagannath and Baladeva had elephant heads, as well as an extended proboscis and elephant fangs. Ganpati Bhatt then believed Jagannath was the sole Parma Brahma.

He also acknowledged Jagannath as the Lord. Gaja Vesha is now conducted in the evening of the Snana Yatra. Lord Jagannath and Baladeva are decked as elephants, while Subhadra is ornamented as a lotus. This is a noteworthy occasion for Gaudiya Vaishnavas because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent the most of his time on Jagannath Puri after adopting Sannyasa.

The Gods are offered Naivedyam after receiving Sahanamela – the devotees’ darshan – in Gajanana Vesha. All of the Deities become ill after such an intensive bathing session. They then proceed in Anasara Pahandi, one by one, into the Anasar Ghara – the sick room. Shri Jagannath and his siblings are now quarantined for a period of fifteen days.

Instead, three pata chitra paintings are currently on display for worshippers to view. The Gods are reported to recuperate in a fortnight after receiving Ayurvedic medication (‘pnachan’) from the Raj Vaidya and to resume giving audiences to their followers.

During the Anasara time, worshippers flock to the Alarnatha Mandira in Bramhagiri, believing that Jagannath manifests as Alarnatha. The idols of the Lord, appear for public viewing only after 15 days, on the day just before the famous Rath Yatra.

“Jay Jagannath”