Kolkata: Ahead of Rath Yatra on June 27, Digha Jagannath Dham on Wednesday celebrated the sacred bathing rituals or ‘Snan Yatra’ of the idols grandly.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent her homegrown jackfruits, mangoes and also sweets to the temple for offering to the deities.
Fruits sent by the Chief Minister were offered as part of the “56 bhogs” to the idols.
The Chief Minister will inaugurate the Rath Yatra Utsav in Digha Jagannath Dham this year. She is also expected to hold a preparatory meeting at Nabanna with the top administrative officials and all the stakeholders to take stock of the arrangements in Digha ahead of the Rathayatra Utsav.
International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) vice-president, Kolkata, Radharamn Das, who is in charge of Digha Jagannath Dham on Wednesday morning said: “We are touched by the gesture of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has sent her homegrown fruits which will be added to 56 Bhog and will be offered to the idols after bath.”
The idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra were bathed with 108 varieties of water in the morning, dressed in a special way known as ‘Gajavesh’ and offered ‘chappan bhog’. Following this, the deities were available for Darshan to the visitors from 3 pm till 9 pm. Lord Jagannath’s Snan Yatra at Digha Dham was performed with water collected from 108 pilgrimage sites. Along with 108 varieties of water, the idols are also bathed in sandalwood paste, fruit juice and Panchamrit, which is a sacred, holy drink in Hinduism. Doors to the sanctum sanctorum of Digha’s Jagannath Dham will remain closed for visitors after June 11 as part of Rath Yatra preparations.
“From Thursday, Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra Devi will enter a state of divine rest due to Snana Yatra fever and will not be available for darshan. However, the temple will remain open and Sri Sri Radha Madan-Mohan ji will bless the devotees with darshan,” reads a press statement issued by ISKCON.
The deities will reappear for Darshan on June 26, a day before the grand Rathayatra on June 27. “As per traditions, it is believed that after taking bath on ‘Snan Yatra’, Jagannath Dev falls sick, so he is kept in isolation temporarily till Rath Yatra,” Das added.