Jagannath Rath Yatra | Devotees Throng Temples For 'Snana Purnima' Ahead Of Jagannath Rath Yatra

Before the grand chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra roll out for the annual Rath Yatra, devotees eagerly await one sacred ritual that marks the beginning of the festivities. It is the Snana Yatra...one of the most significant ceremonies leading up to the famous chariot festival. In Kendujhar, Odisha, hundreds of devotees gathered at the historic Sri Sri Baladevjew Temple on Monday to witness the revered Deba Snana Purnima. The deities were taken in a ceremonial procession to the bathing platform, where priests performed the ritual bath using water drawn from the temple's sacred Golden Well. Following the ceremony, the deities were adorned in the distinctive Gajanana Besha, or Elephant Attire, a unique Kendujhar tradition crafted entirely from natural materials.