Bath for Lord Jagannath

A fortnight before the annual 'Rath Yatra', the deities of Sri Jagannath Temple "" Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra "" were given the ceremonial bath here on 'Snan Purnima' on June 11.

Over one lakh devotees braved the humid conditions and thronged the grand road outside the 13th century shrine.

The deities were ceremonially taken out of their abode to the bathing platform where 108 buckets of water from a well inside the temple premises were poured on them.

The hordes of priests went through several intricate rituals as the deities took the holy bath. As per tradition, the deities are supposed to catch a cold and rest in the sick room of the temple for the next 15 days.