The bathing festival ‘Snana Yatra’ celebrated in Odisha

The ‘Snana Yatra’ is a bathing festival celebrated on the full moon day (Purnima) of the Hindu month of ‘Jyestha’ & considered to be the birthday of Lord Jagannath. It is a significant ritual in the run-up to the annual ‘Rath Jatra’ festival. In Puri, the annual ceremonial bathing ritual of the deities at Shree Jagannath temple has recently celebrated on 17th June 2019 in the presence of thousands of devotees. The ceremony is known as ‘Snana Jatra’ of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. It was performed on a bathing altar known as the ‘Snana Mandap’ in which priests poured 108 pitchers of aromatic sacred water on the deities.The Skanda Purana mentions that King Indradyumna arranged this ceremony for the first time when the idols of the deities were first installed.