Snāna Yātrā is the bathing festival of Jagannātha at Puri, held on Jyeṣṭha Pūrṇimā. Jagannātha, Balabhadra and Subhadrā are brought out to the snāna maṇḍapa and bathed in public with one hundred and eight pots of scented water. After the bath the deities are said to fall ill with fever and withdraw to rest until Ratha Yātrā. The day opens the season of the chariot festival. How the day is fixed: Snāna Yātrā is the civil day on which Jyeṣṭha Pūrṇimā prevails at local sunrise. It usually comes in June. Keep in mind: Ratha Yātrā follows later, on Āṣāḍha Śukla Dvitīyā, and is a separate festival. The days between the two are the deities' rest. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. The public bath: The three deities are bathed on the snāna maṇḍapa with one hundred and eight pots of scented water, in full view of the devotees. The fever rest: After the bath the deities are said to take fever and withdraw from public view. They rest until Ratha Yātrā. At home: Devotees bathe early, recite the Jagannāthāṣṭaka and go to the temple for darśana. Worth remembering: Snāna Yātrā is the bath on Jyeṣṭha Pūrṇimā, and Ratha Yātrā is the chariot festival on Āṣāḍha Śukla Dvitīyā. In western India the same full moon is kept as Vaṭa Pūrṇimā, which is a separate observance. Custom around Snāna Yātrā differs from household to household. Families near Puri may go to the temple for the bath, while others keep the morning at home with prayers to Jagannātha. The shared thread is the memory of the deities' bath and the wait for the chariots. For the details, follow the practice the elders of your own house have kept.
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