Lakhs Witness Lord Jagannath’s Grand Snana Yatra in Puri

Undeterred by the sweltering heat and humidity, lakhs of devotees from across the country thronged Odisha’s holy town of Puri on Wednesday to witness the sacred bathing rituals of Lord Jagannath and his siblings—Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra—at the 12th-century Jagannath Temple.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi also joined the sea of devotees in the spiritual celebration known as Snana Yatra, which marks an important prelude to the annual Rath Yatra festival.

The deities were brought to the Snana Mandap (bathing altar) in a grand Pahandi procession early in the morning, accompanied by Shree Sudarshan, the symbolic wheel weapon of Lord Vishnu. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) confirmed that the Pahandi rituals were completed by 9 AM.

At the Snana Mandap, the deities were ceremonially bathed with 108 pitchers of aromatic and sanctified water amidst chants, hymns, and devotional music. The event, conducted in a specially erected open-air pandal, allowed thousands of pilgrims to witness the rare ritual, believed to spiritually cleanse and rejuvenate the deities.

The Snana Yatra is one of the few occasions when devotees get a direct glimpse of the deities outside the sanctum sanctorum. The deities will now enter the Anasara period—believed to be a time of rest and recovery—before reappearing during the grand Rath Yatra.

Security arrangements were tightened across Puri, with hundreds of police personnel deployed to ensure crowd management and smooth conduct of the rituals. Temple authorities also provided drinking water, medical aid, and shaded areas for the comfort of the devotees.