“Nilachala Nivasaya Nityaya Paramatmane Balabhadra Subhadrabhyam Jagannathaya Te Namah.”
Also known as Snana yatra, Devasnana purnima is an annual festival which is celebrated on Purnima (the full moon day) of the Jyestha month according to Hindu calendar. This day also marks the birth anniversary of Lord Jagannath.
On this day, Mahaprabhu Jagannath along with his sibling deities, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra are escorted to the ‘Snana mandap’, where they are given a ceremonial bath by the priests of the temple. 108 pitchers of sacred water mixed with sandalwood paste, camphor, saffron and ‘chua’ is used to bathe the deities amidst chanting of maha mantra and kirtan. After the bathing ceremony, deities are adorned in Gajanan Bhesha or Hati Besha and it is in this besha that the Lord give audience to devotees before taken into Anasara ghara (sick room) to rest for 15 days.
Story behind Gajanan Besha
The Gajanan Besha, also known as ‘Hati Besha’ is adorned by the deities on the occasion of ‘Devasnana Purnima’, where mask of the elephant god is placed on Lord Balabhadra and Lord Jagannath after the ceremony. The Besha symbolizes Lord Jagannath’s omnipresence and remover of obstacles The story goes that many years ago, there was a scholar by the name Ganpati Bhatta who was an ardent devotee of Lord Ganesha. When he heard that there is manifest of God in the form of Lord Jagannath, he decided to visit Shrikshetra. When he reached the ceremony, he was disappointed to not see Lord Ganesha in Lord Jagannath’s idol. As he was leaving a stranger started talking to him and after knowing the reason for his disappointment, he advised Ganpati Bhatta to pray to view any form in Lord Jagannath. Paying heed to the stranger’s advice, Bhatta prayed in front of the idol with utmost sincerity. When he opened his eyes, he saw Ganesha in Lord Jagannath’s idol. He was overwhelmed and realised that there is no difference between any god. Since that day, Hati Besha has become a ritual after the bathing ceremony.
