Snana Yatra 2025: Gajanana besa or Hati besa of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, know its significance
Gajanana besa or Hati besa of Lord Jagannath and his siblings has and unique significance and mesmerizing story, see here
Puri: Lord Jagannath and his siblings will be adorned in the form of elephants or the famous Hati besa after taking the holy bath atop the Snana mandap on Snana purnima. The story behind the Gajanan Besa (Hathi Besha) of Lord Jagannath and his siblings is full of grace, glamour and uniqueness.
The trinity of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra will give darshan to the devotees in ‘Hathi Besha’. There is a very interesting story behind the Gajanana or hati besa of the divine trinity.
There was a devotee named Ganapati Bhatt from South India. He was an ardent devotee to Lord Ganesh and had eyes only for his Gajanana (Ganesha). He came all the way from south to get a glimpse of Lord Jagannath and tried to find his Lord Ganesh in him. Upon seeing his distress, Lord Jagannath being the devotee’s God appeared in Gajanan Besha for him.
Ganapati Bhatt was so immersed in his devotion that the divine Lord Jagannath appeared to him as Black Elephant and Lord Balabhadra as White Elephant. This is our Lord Jagannath’s miracle, he takes the form that his devotees long for.
The Pahandi ritual for the three deities has been held and the three deities have been seated atop the Snana Mandap (also said as Snana Bedi). The famous Gaja besa (elephant attire) has been slated to take place at 4:30.
It is noteworthy that the Snana Yatra is an annual bathing festival of deities celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha. On the eve of the auspicious occasion of Snana Yatra, the idols of the deities are brought out from the Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) to the Snana Bedi following the ritual of Pahandi.
The deities are bathed with 108 pots of ritually purified water drawn from the northern well of the temple to the accompaniment of religious incantations. After the Snana Yatra rituals are performed, the divine trinity are traditionally believed to fall ill and are kept in Anasara Ghara.
During this period, three Pata Chitra paintings are displayed for devotees for darshan. It is traditionally believed that the ayurvedic medication (‘pnachan’) administered by the Raj Vaidya following which the Gods recover in a fortnight.
