| NITAAI-Veda.nyf > Holy Days of the Year > Holy Days > The Snana Yatra of Lord Jagannatha |
Title: The Snana Yatra of Lord
Jagannatha
User: Swami Gaurangapada Date: 2006-06-10 16:28:03
Nityananda! Gauranga!
Hare Krishna! A special bath of Lord Jagannatha takes place on the Purnima of
Jyestha month (Devasnan Purnima), to commemorate the appearance day of Lord
Jagannath.
Photos of the Snana
Yatra: "http://flickr.com/photos/gaurangapada/sets/72157594164734034/"
According to Skanda
Purana when Raja Indradyumna installed the wooden
deities he arranged this
bathing ceremony. This day considered to be the
birth-day of Lord
Jagannath. Held in the full-moon day of the month of
Jyestha this festival is
also simultaneously held in all other important
Puri, it attracts
thousands of visitors and pilgrims from all over the
country.
'Niladri Mohadaya', a religious text written
in Orissan (Oriya) records the
rituals of the festival.
Shriharsa in his 'naisadhiya Charita' (XV.89) also
refers to this festival
of Purushottama. This bathing ceremony has a
speciality. As this
festival does not find mention in the early religious
texts, it is believed to
be a tribal ceremony. Lord.Jagannath in His early
form was being worshipped
as Nilamadhava by a Savara chief called Viswabasu.
The story is nicely told
in the drama Jagannath Priyan natakam. Till now it
is the Daitas and Savars
(tribals) who have the exclusive right to conduct
the festival. The tribals
called Saoras (of southern Orissa) still perform a
rite to bath their
Deities ceremonially on the last day of the month of
Jyestha. For this they
collect water from remote Jungles where it remains
untouched even by the
shadow of the animals.
On the previous day of Snana Yatra the images
of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra along with the image of Sudarshana are
ceremonially brought out from the sanctum in a procession to the Snana-vedi
(Bathing pandal). This special pandal in the temple precinct of Puri is called
Snana Mandap. It is at such a height that visitors standing outside the temple
also gate a
glimpse of the Deities.
On the fourteenth day
(Chaturdashi - the day before the bathing - Purnima)
when the Deities are
taken out in procession, the whole process is called
Pahandi or Pahandi vijay.
Scholars have given different interpretations of
the term ('Pahandi').
Some opine that it has been derived from the term
'Praspanda' meaning
movement. Some others are inclined to interpret it as
derivation from Pandya
vijaya.
For the festival the the
Snana Vedi (bathing platform) is well decorated
with traditional
paintings of trees and gardens. Flags and toranas (arches
strung with mango leaves)
are also put up. The Deities are profusely
decorated with flowers.
All kinds of perfumes such as Dhupa (incense), Aguru
(oils) etc. are then
offered. As the 'Pahandi' of the Deities takes place to
the accompaniment of
music and beating of various indigenous drums.
Thousands of devotees
jostle and crave for a look at the Deities in
procession.
In Puri the bathing
procedure is as follows: After Mangala Arati, the Suaras
and Mahasuaras go in a
ceremonial procession to fetch water from Suna Kua
(Golden well) in one
hundred and thirty, vessels of copper and gold. All of
them cover their mouths
with a piece of cloth so as not to contaminate it
even with their breath.
Then all the vessels filled with water are preserved
in the Bhoga Mandap. The
Palla pandas (a class of Brahmin priests) then
purify the water with
Haridra (turmeric), Java (whole rice), Benachera,
Chandan, Aguru, flowers,
perfumes and medicinal herbs.
The bathing festival takes place during the morning hours of the
purnima
tithi. The filled vessels
are carried from Bhoga Mandap to the Snana Vedi by
the Suaras in a long
single-line procession. This ritual is called
'Jaladhibasa' (Jala -
water, abhishek - bath).
Prior to the bathing
ceremony Jagannath, Baladeva and is Subhadra, covered
in silken cloth and then
smeared with red powder, are taken in procession to
a platform which is
specially decorated and purified with water and incense.
One hundred and eight
gold vessels are filled with water taken from a
special well containing
waters from all the holy tirthas. Abhiseka is
performed with this
water, accompanied by the chanting of vedic (Pavamana
Sukta) mantras, kirtana
and blowing of conch shells.
Due to the amount of
bathing liquids that are offered to cool the Lord's
transcendental body at
this time, bear in mind that this is the hottest time
in India just prior to
the refreshing monsoon rains, His painted form takes
a bit of a wash-out. The
colouration of the Deity's faces are painted on
with natural earthly
mineral paints not modern oil based paints, so when
water is applied to cool
Their forms it also has the effect of washing away
the features of he former
painting. As usual the Lord has a plan to make
everything go smoothly.
To bridge the episode of His bathing and the period
that He comes out to
bless everyone for Rathyatra He organized some special pastimes by which he
devotees can serve Him and remember His wonderful forms.
So to keep a wonderful
mood of seeing the Lord in an uplifting manner the
Lord arranged for the
Hati Vesha festival where Lord Jagannatha and Lord
Balaram then puts on the
elephant dress, Hati Vesha, and Lady Subhadra wears a lotus flower vesha.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The original story is
told in several different ways, some call Hati snan
(elephant bath) some call
Ganesh abhishek as they identify the following
story as being the
original cause of the Lord to wear this elephant vesh for
His devotee: It is said that a staunch devotee of Lord
Ganesh and himself
a profound scholar
visited Puri during Snana Yatra. He was
amply rewarded
by the king of Orissa for
his scholarship. The king asked the scholar to
accompany him to see Lord
Jagannath which he refused under the pretext that he wouldn't worship any
"God" other than his Ishthadevata Ganesh. Some how he was persuaded
and brought before the Snana vedi. To
the utter surprise of all, Lord Jagannath appeared with an elephantine form
that resembled as Ganesh. Since then during Snana Yatra when the sacred bath is
performed, the Deities are dressed like like elephants - resembling Ganesh.
Various other legends are also told and reasons assigned explaining the Ganesh
besa (vesha).
During the sacred bath
the colours painted on the images generally fade.
seeing the wooden deities
in discolour devotees may not have the appropriate devotional attitude and in
fact may feel sinful repugnance. For this reason, the images are immediately
dressed in the Hati vesha (besa) in which they remain mostly covered.
After the Snana Yatra,
the Deities are kept away from public view for
fifteen days and during
all these days the daily rites of the temple remain
suspended. As Jagannatha
himself instructed, after this ceremony, he is not
seen for a fortnight. The
Deities are kept on a special "sick room" called
the Ratan vedi inside the
temple. This period is called 'Anabasara kala'
meaning improper time for
worship. It has been said earlier that the Deities
are discoloured as a
result of the sacred bath - some say look a bit off
colour........ During
these fifteen days the Dayitas (descendants of
Viswavasu, the Savara)
repaint and restore the Deities and Jagannath's fine
decorations. The period
of colouring and decorating the Deities is divided
into seven short periods,
each of two days duration, and a short period of
one day set apart to give
finishing touches. Thus the period
covers the
whole fortnight. On the
16th day the Deities in their new forms after
renovation become ready
for the public view - darshan. The festival of the
first appearance of the
Lord Jagannath to his devotees is called Netrotsava
(festival for the eyes)
or Nava Yauvanotsava (festival of the ever new
youth). According to
priests of the Jagannath temple the devotee washes away all his sins if he gets
a vision of the Lord on this day. On this occasion,
therefore, great rush of
people occurs in the temple.
The Shilpa Shastras and
Agamas testify that the Deities become suitable for
worship only after the
performance of the rite of 'Chakshyu Unmilana'
(Opening of the eyes).
During 'Anabasara', the Daitas offer to the Deities
only fruits and water
mixed with cheese, and and Dasa mula
medicines to
cure his fever.. In a
devotional mood the devotees accept that due to all
the bathing the Lord
becomes transcendentally poorly, and therefore needs to take rest. Like human
beings they are considered to have fallen ill and are
treated by the Raj Vaidya
or the King's physician with specific medicines
(Dasamulas).
The temple-festivals
which are held in a bigger and elaborate scale in
the important shrines of
Puri and Bhubaneswar are also held simultaneously
in all other small
shrines of the respective Deities, though in modest
scales. Likewise the
Snana Yatra is held in many other temples of Orissa,
and now all over the
world.
Other deities may also
receive abhiseka on this day. One should perform puja
and bathe the Deities
with water or panca gavya and pancamrta while chanting the vedic mantras like
purusa sukta.
Snana-yatra or the Lord
Jagannatha's bathing festival which takes place 14 days before Shri Ratha Yatra
Festival. During the 14 days period, the temple remains closed for Darshana on
the plea that Jagannatha Swami has caught a cold. It also enables the Deities
to be repainted, or renewed. Still others say that the reason that Lord Jagannatha
feigns sickness is to take a break from the thousands and thousands of people
who visit Shri Puri Dhama everyday, most of who are asking, "Lord
Jagannatha, please fulfill my desires, give me this, give me that." So
Lord takes it easy for a couples of weeks before the Ratha Yatra, and along
with His brother and sister They peacefully enjoy fine sweet preparations and
nectar drinks made cream, molasses and invigorating herbs.
Snana Yatra is when the
Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Deities are bathed. Snana means
"bathing." This is done on Jyestha Purnima. The main Deities along
with Sudarshana disc are bought to the snana mandapa (a platform in front of
the temple). Around mid-day 108 pots of water are poured on the Deities from a
sacred well which is dear to the goddess
Sitala. An emissary of
the king of Orissa ceremonially sweeps the platform. Then elephant-head masks
are put on the Deities. This is their Ganesh vesha. The Deities are then
offered cooked food and an arati is perform. This is the only time in a year
that the public can see a food offering to the Deities. The Deities go back
into the temple in a procession and stay in seclusion for 15 days. The Deities
are placed in a semi-reclining position in the hallway between the inner and
outer sanctum.
The word Anavasara is
used when Shri Jagannathaji cannot be seen in the temple. After the bathing
ceremony. Lord Jagannatha is supposed to become sick. He is therefore removed
to His private chambers. During the Anavasara festival, it is said that Lord
Jagannatha suffers from fever; and is offered an infusion of drugs represented
by fruit juice. The dayita servants take care of Lord Jagannatha from the time
of Snana Yatra up to the time the Lord is carried from His throne to the Ratha
Yatra carts. They sleep and stay with the Deities.
This 15 day resting and
renovation period is also called Nibhrita, in honor of the solitary place where
the Supreme goddess of fortune lives. Lord Jagannatha lives there in seclusion
enjoying svakiya rasa in the company of His wife, Lakshmi. Then He asks Her
permission lo leave and comes out for His Rathayatra chariot festival.
The body of Lord
Jagannatha having been washed needs repainting. This is known as Anga-Raga.
This is done by the daityas. It takes about two weeks to complete the painting
of Lord Jagannatha's body. The renovation festival is also called Nava-Yauvana,
which indicates that the Jagannatha Deity is being fully restored to youth.
Netrotsava (Reappearance)
is when after two weeks absence, Lord Jagannatha reappears. At sunrise, fifteen
days after the bathing ceremony the Deities have recovered from their cold and
are placed in front of the inner sanctum in a reclining posiŽtion. They have
been totally repainted, except their eyes. At this time the eyes of the Deities
are painted by their respective priests and the normal worship in the temple is
resumed, except the Deities are still reclining.