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Jagannath Rath Yatra 2026

Jagannath Rath Yatra 2026: Snan Purnima is being celebrated in the temple of Jagannath in Puri, Odisha. This is the day when the Maha Abhishekam of Lord Jaganna, his elder brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra Devi is performed. This ritual is considered to be the beginning of the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath. It is believed that after this great bath Lord Jagannath becomes ill. Another wonderful tradition is performed during this time. This tradition of bathing is performed only on the full moon day. This tradition is the tradition of Gaj Vesh. This tradition is also known as Hathi Vesh. Lord Jagannath and Balbhadra ji are specially decorated and decorated in the form of an elephant.

Lakhs of devotees from India and abroad reach Puri to see this form of God. On the first day of Snan Purnima, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra are taken to the Snan Mandap (bathing altar) of the temple and their Maha Abhishek is performed with the water of 108 sacred pots. After this, all three are decorated grandly. During this time, there is a tradition of dressing Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra in decorated figures like elephant's face, while Subhadra Devi is decorated in the form of a lotus. This divine adornment is called Gaj Vesha or elephant attire. There is an interesting story behind God's Gaj disguise. Let us know.

According to the story…

According to the story, there used to be a scholar in the 15th century. His name was Ganpati Bhatt. He was a great devotee of Lord Ganesha. One day he reached Puri with the aim of having darshan of Lord Jagannath. He saw Lord Jagannath during his bathing journey, but he did not see the elephant-faced form of his beloved Ganesha in the Lord. Because of this he became very sad and disappointed.

Ganpati Bhatt decided that he would leave Puri. Lord Jagannath knew that the feelings of his devotee were sincere, hence he created his divine play and respected the devotion of his devotee. The next time Ganapati Bhatt saw the Lord at the bathing pavilion, he was astonished. The black Gajanan (elephant) form of Lord Jagannath was in front of his eyes.

God appeared in divine form

God was appearing in this form to him and many of his devotees. Lord Balabhadra was spreading supernatural radiance in the white form of Gajanana. Subhadra Devi was adorned in the form of a divine lotus and was showering her blessings on the devotees. Ganpati Bhatt became emotional after seeing this divine form of Lord Jagannath.

Disclaimer: The information given in this news is based on religious beliefs and general information. TV9 Bharatvarsha does not confirm this.

Varun Kumar

Varun Kumar has been a part of the journalism world for the last five years. In the year 2021, he completed his studies in Mass Communication from Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication. After this, he started journalism with Prabhasakshi News website and then became a part of ABP News. Now working with the Dharma team of TV9 Digital.

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