Devasnana Purnima: The story behind Hati Besha

Puri, June 24: The much-awaited Deba Snana Purnima ritual of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Balabhadra has been conducted today at the Jagannath temple in Puri sans devotees to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra adorned the Hati Besha and their sibling Devi Subhadra gave the darshan in Padma besha. The rituals were carried out with a minimum number of servitors and strict adherence to social distancing norms. A total of 108 pitchers of herbal and aromatic water were used to bath the deities. Atleast 35 pots of water were used for bathing Lord Jagannath, 33 for Lord Balabhadra, 22 for Devi Subhadra, and 18 for Sudarshan. It takes place on a full-moon day of Jyeshtha (May-June). According to the legends, Lords are dressed as Ganesh to satisfy the followers of the Ganapatya sect. This Besha is chiefly conducted by the Palia Puspalak, Khuntia, Mekap and Daitapatis on this day. Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra adorned Gajanana Besha. Story behind Gajanana Besha: Many centuries ago, a scholar called Ganpati Bhatta visited to the King’s court in Puri. The king invited him to witness the Snana Purnima but he denied stating that he will only worship Ganesha. The king didn’t want to upset the scholar. To his astonishment, he was unable to see Jagannath; in the place of Jagannath, it was Ganesha. Even Balabhadra had taken the form of Ganesha. He realized that Jagannath and Balabhadra in their compassion, had taken note of his wishes and taken the form of Ganesha. He also realized that the differences between Ganesha, Balabhadra and Jagannath were all artificial and not divine. Since that day, during the bathing ceremony of Jagannath, priests place the mask of an elephant on the two brothers. This is the Hati-Besha.