Shreemandir Festival: 'Senapata' Ritual Today, 'Snana Yatra' Tomorrow

Puri, June 21: Preparations are in full swing for the Snana Yatra and Gajanana Besha of Shreemandir deities- Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Chakraraj Sudarshan, tomorrow, while the special ritual 'Senapata' being held today.

The 'Senapata' ritual is conducted by Daitapati servitors in the Shreemandir a day before the Snana Yatra every year.

For the ritual, the Shreemandir remained closed for devotees till 11 am.

The district administration and SJTA sources said all steps have been taken to ensure the smooth conduct of the crowd-fetched festival of Lord Jagannath. As lakhs of people are expected to throng the city, traffic and crowd management systems have been planned. As many as 70 platoons of police force would be deployed to ensure an incident-free ritual.

The deities are brought to Snana Mandap (Bathing Platform) in Goti Pahandi and then take baths there on Snana Purnima Day. Water is drawn from Suna Kua (golden well) in pots for bathing. After bathing, the deities are adorned in Hati Besha, also called Gajanana Besha. Thereafter, they move to Anasar Ghar for a 14-day stay as they fall ill. During these 14 days, devotees are not allowed Darshan.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has sought cooperation from members of Chhatisha Nijog for the conduct of Snana Yatra and Rath Yatra in the most disciplined way.