Puri, Ap 25: The Jagannath Temple in Puri has temporarily closed for public darshan today as the Bada Maha Snana, a grand purification bath ceremony, of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, was performed after a person vomited near the Jaya Vijaya Dwara.
Temple authorities clarified that the Maha Snana ritual does not involve bathing the deities. Instead, water is poured on mirrors placed before the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra, accompanied by reciting sacred hymns (mantras).
The Maha Snana ceremony, along with the subsequent cleansing ritual known as 'Sodha,' is performed on various occasions, including incidents such as a child urinating inside the temple, vomiting incidents, detection of blood stains, the demise of an animal or a human within the temple premises, the presence of a dog inside the temple premises, or the discovery of a skull or skeleton within the temple complex.
