Royal bath for presiding deities of Jagannath temple

Puri,Jun 30 (UNI) Lakhs of devotees today thronged this pilgrim city to witness the grand royal bathing ceremony, popularly known as ''Snan Purnima'' of the three presiding deities of Jagannath Temple.

Snan Purnima, has been considered as a major ritual prelude to the famous Car festival or Rath Yatra and is observed in traditional style and grandeur.

As per the schedule the holy triads - Lord Jagannath,his elder brother lord Balabhadra and their sister Devi Subhadra were escorted out of the ''Ratnasinhasan'' from the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple early morning by the Daita servitors in a ''Pahandi'' procession amidst chanting of Jai Jagannath.

The air rented with the music of drums, cymbals, bugles and ghanta as the Daita servitors( a special set of servitors known as body protectors of the deities) escorted the deities in ceremonial ''Pahandi'' procession to the bathing altar located at the outer temple complex.

After a complex set of minor rituals the temple priests conducted the bathing ceremony of the deities at noon using 108 pitchers of aromatic and herbal water drawn from the golden well of the temple.

The ceremony was completed by noon and soon after the bathing ceremony the Gajapati king Divyasingh Deb came in a