Snana Yatra, Orissa

Snana Yatra, Orissa is one of the eminent Orissa festivals that marks the religious Diaspora of the east Indian state. Also known as Devasnana Purnima, the Snana Yatra ceremony caters solely to Lord Jagannatha. One of the oldest festivals whose origin dates back to antiquity, there are several conjectures and surmises shrouding the Snana Yatra celebrations and its historic significance. The chronicles of the epic Skanda Purana record that it was the ancient potentate Raja 'Indradyumna' who had ensconced the wooden deities for his ablutions and his bathing ceremony.

Another significance of the Snana Yatra celebrations is that it marks the birthday of Lord Jagannatha. The festival commences on a beautiful whitewashed and star studded full moon and is celebrated with pomp and grandeur all across the nation. To lionize this auspicious occasion, myriads of pilgrim as well as the spiritually inclined hoi polloi flock to the temple town of Puri.

According to the ancient texts that shed light on Orissa, the Snana Yatra ceremony was essentially a tribal ceremony that was conducted by members of the Savara tribe. Even today, the tribesmen of the Savara and the Daita reserve the exclusive right to give the revered deity a bath on the concluding day of the month of Jyestha. On the day preceding the occasion of the ceremonious bath, the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balaram and Goddess Subhadra are brought out from the confines of the sanctum sanctorum and taken out on a colorful promenade to the bathing promenade known as the Snana Mandapa. The festival culminates with another colorful perambulation back to the premises of the temple.