Puri: The Mahasnana (bathing) rituals of Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities were performed twice on the occasion of the Snana Purnima as a blood stain was spotted near the Snana Mandapa of the 12th-century shrine.
According to reports, the rituals of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Debi Subhadra, and His Aayudha Sudarshan Chakra – were held as per the schedule.
The Snana Purnima rituals began with the Mangala Alati and were followed by the Abakasa Niti. Even the bathing rituals of the deities had been completed after the Chaturdhamurti were bathed with 108 pitchers of special herbal water.
The costumes for the Hati Besha of the deities also had arrived at the Srimandir and the idols of the Trinity were about to be decorated with this special attire after the bathing rituals. In the meantime, police from the Jagannath Temple Police Station spotted blood stains near the Snana Mandapa and informed the servitors.
Later, the servitors decided to conduct the Mahasnana rituals yet again. As per the tradition, if any blood stain is found on the premises of the Srimandir it has to be purified and the rituals have to be performed again.
Meanwhile, tragedy struck a family on the occasion of Snana Purnima, as a devotee died after having darshan of Lord Jagannath in Sadar Headquarters Hospital here on Sunday.
The deceased has been identified as Amblal Bhoi, a resident of Rajasthan.
According to reports, Amblal was offering prayers to Lord Jagannath near the Snana mandap. Suddenly Amblal’s health condition deteriorated and he collapsed. He was rushed to Singhadwaar Primary Health Centre.
As his condition showed no sign of improvement, he was shifted to Sadar Headquarters Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
