Puri: Lakhs of devotees thronged Puri on Monday to witness the sacred Hati Besha of the Holy Trinity following the annual Snana Yatra rituals at the Shree Jagannath Temple, one of the key rituals preceding Rath Yatra.
After the ceremonial bathing on the Snana Bedi, Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra were adorned in Hati Besha or Gajanan Besha (elephant attire), while Devi Subhadra appeared in Padma Besha. Lord Sudarshan also participated in the rituals.
The rituals began with the traditional Pahandi procession as the deities were ceremonially carried from the Ratna Bedi to the Snana Bedi amid devotional chants. As per tradition, the deities were bathed using 108 pitchers of sanctified water—35 for Lord Jagannath, 33 for Lord Balabhadra, 22 for Devi Subhadra and 18 for Lord Sudarshan.
Following the bathing ritual, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb performed the customary Chhera Pahanra by sweeping the Snana Bedi with a golden broom before servitors dressed the deities in their ceremonial attire.
The Hati Besha tradition is linked to the belief that Lord Jagannath once appeared in the form of Lord Ganesha before devotee Ganapati Bhatt. The attire is traditionally offered by Raghab Das Math and Gopal Tirtha Math.
With Snana Yatra concluded, the deities will now remain in Anasara for 14 days and return for Nabajauban Darshan ahead of the annual Rath Yatra.
Extensive security and crowd management arrangements were put in place across Puri to ensure smooth darshan for devotees.
