Bhubaneswar: Lord Jagannath in Puri Jagannath temple is worshipped as physical, tangible representation of God (Brahman) who is believed to be infinite, omnipresent and beyond comprehension. Worshipping Lord Jagannath and His siblings includes bathing these deities, decorating them with colourful clothes, flowers, perfumes such as sandalwood and jewellery.
Going by Skanda Purana, the King Indradyumna is the one, who established the temple at Puri and placed all the three deities along with Sudarshan in the temple. King Indradyumna is the one, who gave bath to them for the first time.
On the day of Snana Yatra, the deities are given a bath amid the chanting Vedic mantras, blowing of conch shells and kirtans.
The deities are dressed in elephant attire, known as Hati Behsa, after their ceremonial bath at Snana Mandap. The costumes for Hati Besha ritual are prepared by the artisans at Raghaba Das mutt and Gopal Tirtha mutt on Snana Purnima. After having the holy shower on the Snana Mandap, the deities are dressed like Ganesha, who bears the head of an elephant. And this Besha is known as ‘Gaja or Hati Besha’. While Lord Jagannath and Balabhadra are dressed like elephants, their sibling Devi Subhadra gives the darshan in lotus flower besha.
There is a story behind Gaja or Hati Besha of Lord Jagannath.
According to researchers, the Lord of the Universe had given darshan to Ganapati Bhatt, a staunch devotee of lord Ganesha, on the Snana Mandap on the auspicious occasion of Snana Purnima.
In the 15th century, Pandit Ganapati Bhatt of Mahaganapatya community had visited the century-old shrine in Puri to have the darshan of Lord Jagannath. He witnessed Chaturddha Murtti on Snana Mandap on Snana Purnima. However, he could not get satisfaction as he wanted to see Lord Jagannath within Lord Jagannath.
While he was on his way back with disappointment, Lord Jagannath disguised as a priest insisted him to return the temple where he could see his Lord Ganesha. He was overwhelmed to have the darshan of his Lord Ganesha within Chaturddha Murtti on Snana Mandap. Since that day, the deities have been dressed in Gajanan Besha every year followed by holy bathing on Jyestha Purnima.
Besides, some devotees have a different story to tell about the commencement of Hati Besha.
According to them, many centuries ago, a scholar called Ganpati Bhatta paid a visit to the court of the Puri King. The king invited him to see the Snana Yatra but the scholar refused to attend the ceremonial bath ritual stating that he worships Lord Ganesha. After the king insisted several times, the scholar very reluctantly went to see the bathing ceremony. To his astonishment, he was unable to see Lord Jagannath. In the place of Lord Jagannath, he saw 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.
Since that day, during the bathing ceremony of Jagannath, priests have been decking up the deities with this Besha.
Lakhs of devotees throng Puri on this day to have a ‘darshan’ of the sibling deities during the ‘Sahana Yatra’ period, as it is believed that it would rid them of all sins.
