PURI: Lakhs of devotees thronged Puri to witness the grand Snana Purnima ritual of the Trinity in Srimandir on Wednesday.
The day began with the ceremonial Pahandi procession after Mangalarpan at 5.45 am as Daita servitors escorted the deities from the Ratna Singhasan to the Snana Bedi (bathing altar), located on the eastern side of the temple near Singhadwar.
Once the Trinity was placed on the Snana Bedi, servitors performed the regular morning rituals including Mangalarati, Mailum, Tadap Lagi and Abakash, and dressed the deities in their bathing attire.
At around 1.30 pm, the deities were bathed with 108 pitchers of consecrated aromatic water. Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb performed the Chherapahanra ritual at 4 pm and offered prayers on the Snana Bedi. This ceremony concluded at around 4.55 pm.
Following the bath, three sets of dressers adorned the deities in elephant attire called the Hati Besha or Gajanan Besha. Large decorated elephant masks made of thermocol were provided by Raghab Das and Gopal Jew mutts. The dressing ritual took about an hour. The Besha darshan continued late into the night.
At around 11 pm, the deities were ceremonially escorted to Anasara Ghara (sick room) where they will be in quarantine for 15 days. The Trinity will reappear a day before the Rath Yatra in Nabajouban Besha.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi accompanied by Puri MP Sambit Patra, Brahmagiri MLA Upasana Mahapatra and Pipili MLA Asrit Patnaik visited the Srimandir at around 7.50 am to witness the Pahandi and later offered prayers at the Snana Bedi. The chief minister also visited the construction yard and met carpenters engaged in building the three chariots for Rath Yatra.
To ensure smooth conduct of the Snana Purnima ritual, 70 platoons of police force, three commandants, 450 officers as well as units of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, intelligence and quick response teams were deployed. Over 250 AI-powered CCTV cameras were installed at various strategic locations to monitor the proceedings.
DGP YB Khurania, chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Aravind Kumar Padhee, Puri collector Sidharth Shankar Swain and SP Vinit Agarwal monitored the arrangements.