“CHATURDHA MURTI ” SANA YATRA SIGNALS THE BEGINNING OF WORLD FAMOUS RATH YATRA; KNOW IN DETAIL

Puri (The Quiver) : Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra  and Lord Sudarshana ,today are taking holy bath at the Snana Mandap of the Shree Jagannath Temple on the sacred occasion of Deba Snana Purnima. This ritual marks the beginning of the annual World -famous Rath Yatra festival.

The Pahandi ritual of the deities began at around 4 am as servitors took the Trinity and Lord Sudarshan to the Snana Mandap in a ceremonial procession. The servitors bathed the deities with 108 pitchers of water drawn from a well called the ‘Suna Kua’ at Srimandir premises.

After the ritualistic bath ,The Trinity will then be decked up in the ‘Gajanana’ (elephant attire) or ‘Ganesha as part of the grand ritual. Later, they would give the free public darshan to the deities.

 After this , it is believed that the deities will suffer from cold and fever. The Gods and Goddess will be then kept away from public view for fifteen days at Anasara Ghara for treatment . During this treatment time specific rituals are performed. This period of isolation is called Anasara.

On the 16th day, the idols in their youthful forms will be ready for public view. The first appearance of the deities after the bathing festival is called Netrotsaba or Naba Jaubana Darshan.