Puri,( OT Webdesk) – Devotees visiting the Puri Jagannath Temple will have to wait until 2 PM on June 10, as the Senapata Lagi ritual is underway.
This sacred tradition is part of the Snana Yatra preparations and involves adorning Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra with protective coverings made from Baula wood.
Temple authorities restricted public darshan from Monday night’s Alati Pahuda to maintain the sanctity of the ritual.
The Daitapati Sevaks meticulously craft the Senapati coverings to symbolically shield the divine bodies of the deities.
On June 11, the deities will be ceremonially carried to the Snana Mandap in a grand Pahandi procession, where they will be bathed with 108 pitchers of holy water from the Suna Kua (Golden Well).
Following the Snana Yatra, the deities will be adorned in Hati Besha (Elephant attire) before entering a two-week Anasara period, a traditional seclusion believed to allow recovery from the ceremonial bath.
With the Rath Yatra approaching, devotees eagerly await the grand journey of the Holy Trinity as the chariots take shape.
