Snana Jatra of Lord Jagannath to Be Held With ‘Minimum’ Servitors, Says SJTA

Puri: The Snana Jatra ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings will be held here with “minimum” numbers of servitors.

This has been informed by the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Krishan Kumar.

The SJTA had a meeting with representatives of Chhatisa Nijoga today. They have been asked to provide the temple administration a list of minimum servitors required for carrying out the Snana Jatra ritual of the deities. They will submit the list by May 25, the SJTA chief said.
He said that only those servitors will be allowed to enter the temple on the day of Snana Purnima.

The Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee will seek suggestions from “Dharmik Gurus” about other rituals as religious congregations have been prohibited during fourth phase of nationwide lockdown for COVID-19 outbreak, he added.

Meanwhile, Puri Collector Balwant Singh said “So far, all samples taken from Maharana servitors for Covid-19 testing have been found to be negative. Compliance of social distancing norms & other Covid norms has helped a lot. We hope that chariot construction for Rath Yatra will conclude on time”.

The Snana Purnima rituals mark the beginning of the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.