Sydney holds Snana Purnima for first time

Bhubaneswar: The first-ever Debasnana Purnima was organised at Shree Jagannatha Temple, Sydney, on June 29. The celebrations drew more than 250 devotees from diverse cultural and community backgrounds from Sydney and other places in Australia.The ‘chaturdha murti’ was ceremonially brought to the Snana Mandapa in the traditional ‘pahandi’ procession. The idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, goddess Subhadra, and Sudarsana were bathed in 108 ‘kalashas’ (sacred pitchers) of water. “After the bathing ceremony, the deities were dressed in Hati Besha,” said Tanushree Pattjoshi, one of the organisers.The rituals were performed by the temple purohits and priests drawn from other temples of Sydney, who followed the traditions of Shree Jagannatha Temple, Puri.

Traditional offerings included ‘khechudi bhoga’ and select items from ‘chhapana bhoga’.Similarly, Snana Purnima was celebrated at Wayne Hindu Temple, New Jersey, on Monday. “It has been celebrated at the temple for the past two years,” said Suresh Lenka, a member of the Odia diaspora. After the deities were bathed with water from 108 ‘kalashas’ of rose and sandalwood paste water and ‘gaja besha’, the idols were carried to the ‘anasara ghara’ or a room where they will be confined for the next 14 days.

Three to four temple volunteers cooked prasad of khechudi, ghanta tarakari and halwa. A few devotees also brought ‘chuda ghasa’, ‘boondi’, ‘poda pitha’, sweets & fruits to offer to the deities. Over 100 devotees from Odia, Gujarati, Bengali, Telugu and North Indian groups attended the event.