Lakhs of devotees today thronged Puri in Odisha to catch the glimpse of the divine bath of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Sudarshan on the occasion of Deva Snana Purnima today.

In the morning, the holy idols were brought out from Ratna Bedi (inner sanctum of the temple) and will be moved to the Snana Mandap by the temple servitors in a traditional procession. The month-long Rath Yatra festivities of Lord Jagannath will begin with the Deba Snana Purnima today.

As per rituals, the deities will be accorded a bath with 108 pitchers of aromatic water by servitors. The bathing rituals are likely to take place between 11 am and 2 pm. After this ritual, the sibling deities would be dressed up in elephant attire.

Later in the evening, devotees would be allowed to offer prayers. It is believed that after the ritualistic bath, the deities suffer from cold and fever and keep away from public view for 15 days. During the period the holy idols will be treated with herbal medicine. The deities will come out of the Anasar Ghar for Nabajouban Darshan, a day before Rath Yatra. The annual sojourn is scheduled on July 4th this year. Deva Snana Purnima festival is the only time of the year when people, irrespective of their religion can get a glimpse of the holy trinity.