What Is ‘Snana Purnima’ And Why Is It Celebrated?

Snana Purnima is a ritual bathing for ‘Lord Jagannath’ and his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. This festival, conducted on the full moon day of the Jyestha month, is a key forerunner to the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra.

On Snana Purnima, the deities are carried out of the sanctum sanctorum to the Snana Mandap, an elevated platform facing the main thoroughfare, in a spectacular procession known as ‘Pahandi’.  Following the ‘Mangal Arati’, the deities are prepared for the ritualistic wash.

The Daitapatis (special priests who are descendants of the first tribal worshippers) who took over the normal priests the previous night dressed them in ‘Senapatta’, a special body armor fashioned from ‘Baula’ wood.

Following that, the temple servants, the Suaras and Mahasuaras, form a ceremonial procession to get water from the Suna Kua (Golden Well) on the temple grounds.

They use copper and gold containers and cover their mouths with cloth to avoid contamination. The Palla pandas, a group of Brahmin priests, cleanse water with turmeric (Haridra), whole rice (Java), benachera, sandalwood (Chandan), aguru, floral scents, and medicinal herbs.

During the morning hours of the Purnima tithi, the Suaras transport these watercraft in a single line to the Snana Vedi, the bathing platform. Before the bathing process, the deities are draped in silken material and sprinkled with scarlet vermillion powder.

They are then led in a procession to a properly decorated and sanitized stage. In the ‘Jalabhisheka’ rite, the deities are bathed with 108 pitchers of this water. Following their wash, the deities are clad in Hathi Vesha (elephant clothing). Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra are dressed as elephants, and Devi Subhadra wears a lotus flower outfit.

This practice is based on a narrative in which Lord Jagannath appeared as an elephant to delight a devotee of Lord Ganesha. Puri King Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb or his representative then performs the ‘Chhera Pahanra’, a ceremonial sweep, after which devotees can see the deities in public.