Purushottam Shri Jagannath's Snan Yatra

Purushottam Shri Jagannath's Snan Yatra

     " MAHAMBODHESTIRE KANAKRUCHIRE NILASIKHARE
            BASANN PRASAD ANTE SAHAJA BALABHADRENA BALINA
       SUBHADRA MADHYASTHAH SAKAL SURASEBABASARADO
       JAGANNATH SWAMI NAYANPALGAMI BHABATU ME // "


The 9th of June 2017 , as per the Hindu Lunar Calender will be having an altogether different significance this year . Jyestha Pournima  or full moon day in the month of Jyestha (as per hindu lunar calender) is on 9th of June this year . Jyestha Purnima is also celebrated as Purushottam Lord Jagannath's Snan Yatra .

LORD JAGANNATH

Lord Jagannath also known as the LORD OF THE UNIVERSE where Jagat = universe and Nath = lord,is considered a form of Vishnu and is worshiped along with two other hindu deities lord Balabhadra & goddess Subhadra on the Ratna Vedi (jeweled dias) located in the oldest jagannath temple in India , puri . The lord of the universe is mainly worshiped by the Hindus and the Buddhists in the states of West Bengal , Bihar , Orissa , Chattisgarh , Assam , Gujrat etc . Lord Jagannath is believed to have tribal origin as per the Hindu Mythology and is also known as Nil Madhava , the tribal god , in some parts of Orissa . The oldest and the most famous Jagannath deity is established in Puri , a city in the state of Orissa . The sacred temple of Purushottam Lord Jagannath in puri is considered to be one of the char Dhams  (four hindu pilgrimage places). The temple of the lord is located in Shrichetra i.e a peeth as per the Hindu mythology . The presence of Goddess Vimala makes it a peeth along side a dham . The shrichetra used to be in the shape of a conch shell in earlier times but as times passed , development took place and the geography of the temple premises changed . Apart from the triad companion deities jagannath is also worshiped along with Sudarshana chakra who stands just alongside him in the Ratna vedi located in the Garbhagriha (inner sanctum sanctorum ) of the temple .

SNAN YATRA OF THE LORD

On the day of jyestha Purnima ( 9th day of june , this year) the lord along with the principal companion dieties Balabhadra and Subhadra are brought out of the garbhagriha of the temple in a traditional procession known as dhadi Pahandi to the Snan Mondop .

The dieties are then bathed with 108 pitchers (golden) of water (jagannath - 35 , balabhadra - 33 and Subhadra - 22 , sudarshana - 18 pitchers of water) collected from a well known as the sona kua situated in the temple premises . The deities are then dressed in hati vesha or gajanan vesha (like an elephant) .

As belived by the devotees , the lord after bathing with so much water during the snan yatra fells ill and remains inside the temple for 15 days (approx.) to take rest without showing himself to the devotees . The lord again gives darshan to his devotees on the day of Rath Yatra , approximately 15 days after the snan yatra . So technically it may be said that from the day of snan yatra till the day before rath yatra the deities are not to be seen on the 'Ratnavedi' inide the sanctum . Usual rituals go on inside the temple and the deities are worshipped secretly . The deities appear in front of public again on the day of the Cart festival i.e Rath Yatra .

References -

jagannath.nic.in

Purusottam Shree Jagannath by Padmanabha Mahapatra

Wikipedia

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