| Snana Yatra | |
|---|---|
 Snana Yatra at Puri Srimandira in 2022 | |
| Official name | Snana Yatra |
| Also called | Snana Purnima |
| Observed by | People of Odisha |
| Significance | Birthday ofLord Jagannath |
| Date | Jyestha Purnima |
| 2024 date | 22 June (Saturday) |
TheSnana Yatra (Odia:ସ୍ନାନ ଯାତ୍ରା), also speltSnana Jatra, is a bathing festival of deities celebrated on thepurnima (full moon day) of theHindu month ofJyeshtha.[1][2] It is the auspicious birthday of Jagannath.
It is an important festival for Hindus. This is the first occasion in the year as per the Hindu calendar, when the deitiesJagannath,Balabhadra,Subhadra, Sudarshana, and Madanmohana are brought out from theJagannath Temple (Puri) and taken in a procession to the Snana Bedi. There they are ceremonially bathed and decorated for a public audience with the devotees.[3]
It is a belief among devotees of Lord Jagannath that if they make a pilgrimage to see the deity on this day, they would be cleansed of all of their sins. Hundreds of thousands of devotees visit the temple on the occasion.[4] TheSkanda Purana mentions that King Indradyumna arranged this ceremony for the first time when the idols of the deities were first installed.
On the eve of the Snana Yatra (which means the Divine Bathing festival, inSanskrit), the idols of the deities are brought out in a grand procession from thegarbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) to the Snana Bedi (bathing platform). Devotees come to view the deities.
On the day of the Snana Yatra, the deities are bathed with 108 pots, of ritually purified water drawn from the northern well of the temple to the accompaniment of religious incantations.[5]In the evening, at the conclusion of the bathing ritual, Jagannath and Balabhadra are dressed up in elephant headgear representing the GodGanesh. This form of the God is called the 'Gajavesha'.
After the Snana Yatra the Gods are traditionally believed to fall ill and are kept in a sick room to recuperate in privacy under the care of the Raj Vaidya.[6] During this period known asAnasara the Gods cannot be seen by devotees. At this time three pata chitra paintings are displayed for devotees to view insteadIt is said that with theAyurvedic medication ('pnachan') administered by the Raj Vaidya the Gods recover in afortnight and resume giving an audience to their devotees.[7]
During the Anasara period devotees head to theAlarnatha Mandira in Bramhagiri in the belief that Jagannath manifests as Alarnatha during this period[8]
The festival is observed on the full moon day of the Odia month of Jyestha
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)they were bathed with 108 pitchers of aromatic and herbal water
would undergo treatment by the shrine vaidyas (ayurveda doctors) for 15 days,
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