Bhubaneswar, June 29:Lakhs of devotees gathered in Puri on Monday to witness the Hati Besha of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra after the sacred Snana Yatra rituals at the Shree Jagannath Temple.

Following the ceremonial bath with 108 pitchers of sanctified water, Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra were adorned in the traditional elephant attire, while Devi Subhadra was dressed in Padma Besha. The rituals began with the Pahandi procession, followed by the holy bath and the Chhera Pahanra ceremony performed by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb.

Heavy security arrangements were made to manage the large crowd of devotees. As per tradition, the deities will now remain in seclusion for 14 days in the Anasara Gruha before reappearing for Nabajauban Darshan ahead of the annual Rath Yatra.

The Hati Besha tradition is believed to commemorate Lord Jagannath's manifestation as Lord Ganesha before devotee Ganapati Bhatt and has been observed annually for centuries.