Re: Shri Snana Yatra Public Bathing in Puri Today

From Chapter 7 of Embankment of Separation
By Shrila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

According to Skanda Purana, the Jyestha Purnima, or the full moon day of the month of Jyestha (May-June), is the birthday of Jagannath. Jagannath is Krishna, but Krishna’s birthday is Janmastami, the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadra. Therefore, when it is said that the Jyestha Purnima is Jagannath’s birthday, it is understood that on that day Krishna appeared in His form with big dilated eyes, a round face and His hands and legs shrunken. This is known as mahabhava-prakasa, or the ecstatic manifestation of Krishna, Balarama and Subhadra.

Krishna and Balarama are the sons of Vasudeva. Krishna’s mother is Devaki, and Balarama, His elder brother, is the son of Rohini. Their sister Subhadra is the daughter of Vasudeva and Devaki. So They are brothers and sister and They appeared in Their forms as Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra in Purusottama Kshetra.

Because Jyestha Purnima is the birthday of Jagannath, on that day He takes public bath along with His brother and sister. This festival is known as snana-yatra, and hundreds of pots of water are poured over Them. Because of this, Jagannath’s color fades away and for fifteen days He will not give darsana. This is known as anavasara. During this time He will be painted with new colors, therefore He cannot give darsana. It is generally said that Jagannath falls sick, but that is not correct. The people say this, but it is not mentioned in the scriptures such as Skanda Purana. Sastra says that during these fifteen days His wooden form, carved out of neem wood, is repainted. Another name for Lord Jagannath is Daru-brahma. ‘Daru’ means wood. So a thin piece of cloth is pasted over that murti. The old cloth is removed during this period and replaced with a new cloth on which the new colors are painted. Then, one day prior to Ratha-yatra, Jagannath gives darsana in His fresh color and young appearance, known as nava-yauvana vesa. This is how it is described in the Skanda Purana.

JAGANNATHA’S ELEPHANT DRESS

From Sri Krishna Kathamrita issue 4

Hati means “elephant.” The full moon day of the month of Jyestha is the occasion of Lord Jagannatha’s snana-yatra or bathing festival. In the afternoon and evening of this day Lord Jagannatha wears an elephant dress. In the Oriya “Daryata Bhakti”, a famous devotional book about Lord Jagannatha, the following story is given:

In the village of Kaniyariin the South Indian state of Karnataka lived a devotee of Ganesa known as Ganapati Bhata. He once came to Puri to see Lord Jagannatha’s snana-yatra festival. Upon his arrival he saw Daru-brahma, Lord Jagannatha, as Krishna. Unhappy at not seeing seeing his worshipable Ganesa, he thought, “Jagannatha is said to be Daru-brahma, the transcendent Supreme Lord in whom is contained all incarnations and demigods. Not seeing Ganesa here in Jagannatha, how can I accept this as true?” Lord Jagannatha is known as vancha-kalpataru, or the fullfiller of the desires of His devotees. He became happy seeing the one-pointed faith of this devotee for Ganesh and He manifested Himself like an elephant, gajanana-rupa. According to the prayer of this ganapati-bhakta, in order to establish His position as vancha-kalpataru, as long as the moon and the sun are in this universe Jagannatha will accept this dress on the auspicious snana-yatra day. From that day until now every year on the day of snana-yatra, when Jagannatha and Baladeva sit on the snana-vedi, the bathing platform, they dress like Ganesa. And putting many lotus flowers around the face of Subhadra Devi, the pandas dress her in the padma vesa, or lotus dress. This seva is carried out by the head priest of the Sri Gopal Tirtha Math.

Some pandas give another explanation of the hati-vesa, saying that on one occasion Krishna and Balarama dressed up as elephants in order to make the gopis laugh.

Comment on this Post