PURI: The Pilgrim City of Puri on Wednesday saw a mammoth gathering on the occasion of the Trinity’s Snana Purnima. With the event coinciding with lunar eclipse, the rituals of the deities were rescheduled and the ceremonial ‘pahandi’ began on Tuesday midnight.Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra, Sudarshan and Madanmohan were taken from the ‘ratnasimhasan of the sanctum sanctorum by the servitors to the bathing altar (Snana Vedi) on the outer complex of the temple. The priests then consecrated the water brought from the sacred golden well located inside the temple complex.A total of 108 pitchers of water blended with aromatic herbs and sandalwood paste was used for bathing the Trinity. The water was drawn by the servitors from the golden well. Following this ‘Chherapahanra’ was performed by Gajapati king Dibyasingh Deb at the bathing altar.A special set of servitors then decked up the deities in ‘Hati Vesha’ which signifies manifestation of Lord Ganesh. The ‘Vesha’ was completed by 10.30 am and the deities were offered bhog. Braving the rain, devotees from across the country converged on the Grand Road to witness the ‘Hati Vesha’. Later in the night, the deities were taken to Anasar Ghara where they would lay in bed for the next 15 days. It is believed that Lord Jagannath suffers from cold and fever following the long bathing ceremony. During this period, the temple ‘vaidya’ treats the deity with herbal medicines. The period is known as Anabasara, meaning improper time for worship. All the daily rituals at the temple also remain suspended till the deity recovers from illness and give the devotees in Netrotsaba or the Nava Yauban darshan. As public darshan remains closed, devotees rush to Alarnath temple at Brahmagiri, 23 km from Puri, as it is believed that Lord Jagannath manifests as Lord Alarnath.As many as 30 platoons of police force were deployed at the Grand Road to avoid any untoward situation. Metal detector gates and close circuit cameras were installed at strategic locations along the Road to monitor the milling crowds. District Magistrate Fakir Charan Satpathy, SP Amitendranath Sinha and chief administrator of the temple P K Mahapatra oversaw the arrangements.This year, Rath Yatra is celebrated on July 3.
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