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PURI, ORISSA, June 4, 2004: The Snan Yatra or bathing festival of the Deities of the Jagannath temple in Puri was held on Thursday. The Snan Yatra marks the end of the hot and humid Hindu month of Jyestha. The icons of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan are brought in a ceremonial procession to a high altar called the Snan Mandap for the bathing ritual. “Heat affects even the Gods, and they need some cooling as well,” said researcher Sidheswar Mohapatra. It’s the only occasion other than the Rath Yatra when the deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan make a public appearance. Sacred water drawn from the Golden Well and filled in copper containers are poured over the idols, a practice similar to the tribal ritual of giving deities a bath on the last day of the Jyestha month. The drenched wooden images, which lose color during the bath, are then kept away from public view for the next 15 days for fresh coloring. This period is called the Anabasaro. On the 16th day, the deities reappear in public for the Rath Yatra. This year, it is scheduled on June 19.

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