Bhubaneswar, June 29: Thousands of devotees thronged the Grand Road (Bada Danda) in Puri on Monday to witness the sacred Snana Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra at the Shree Jagannath Temple. The annual festival, observed on the auspicious occasion of Devasnana Purnima, marked the ceremonial public bathing of the sibling deities ahead of the world-famous Rath Yatra.

Among the prominent dignitaries present were Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan and Puri MP Sambit Patra, who joined thousands of devotees in offering prayers.

Sharing his experience on X, Chief Minister Majhi described himself as blessed to witness the divine darshan of the Chaturdhamurti at the Snana Bedi. He prayed for Lord Jagannath's blessings to bring peace, happiness, prosperity and progress to all.

Earlier in the day, the deities were ceremonially escorted from the sanctum to the Snana Mandap in the traditional Pahandi procession following the Mangal Arati. The Daitapati servitors adorned the deities with the sacred 'Senapatta', a protective body armour crafted from Baula wood.

The deities were then ritually bathed with 108 pitchers of scented herbal water drawn from the sacred Suna Kuan inside the temple premises, followed by several traditional rituals. The Snana Yatra is one of the most significant rituals in the annual Jagannath tradition and draws devotees from across Odisha and the country, heralding the beginning of the Rath Yatra festivities.

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