Puri: In the wake of the second wave of the pandemic, the Snana Purnima festival was held without a single devotee entering the temple premises for the second time.
With Covid-19 cases continuing to mar Odisha, Snana Purnima of Lord Jagannath, the most important festival preceding the Rath Yatra, was held sans devotees as the Puri district administration imposed section 144 of CrPC around the temple to prevent congregation of devotees.
As per the rituals of Snana Purnima, the three deities were taken out of the main temple soon after midnight in a procession by a select group of priests to the bathing pedestal called Snana Bedi inside the temple premises. The priests then poured 108 pitchers of aromatic waters mixed with turmeric, sandalwood and flowers on them amid chanting of hymns. While 33 pitchers of water were poured on Lord Balabhadra, it was 35 for Lord Jagannath, 22 for Devi Subhadra and 18 for Lord Sudarshan.
After completion of the bathing ceremony, the deities were then decked up in ‘Sada Besha’ and later in the day they adorned Hati Besha (a form of Lord Ganesha). While Lord Jagannatha and Lord Balaram were dressed like elephants, Goddess Subhadra wears a lotus flower Besha. This year the devotees saw the Besha of deities on TV.
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