Bhubaneswar: The presiding deities of Jagannath temple at Odisha’s Puri city were adorned with Hati Besha (elephant attire) on the occasion of Snana Jatra on Monday.

Lord Jagannath and his elder brother Lord Balabhadra were decorated with the Hati Besha while their younger sister Devi Subhadra was adorned with the Padma Besha (Lotus attire) soon after the three deities along with Lord Sudarshan, the holy weapon of Lord Jagannath, were given a ceremonial bath at the Snana Bedi of the 12th century shrine.

Servitors of the shrine decorated the deities with the Hati Besha soon after Gajapati King Dibyasingha Deb performed the ceremonial Chhera Panhara ritual before the deities at the Snana Bedi.

Thousands of devotees from across the state gathered at Puri to have a glimpse of the elephant attire of the deities.

As per the legend, Lord Jagannath had given darshan as Lord Ganesh to Ganapati Bhatt, a staunch devotee of Lord Vinayaka, on Snana Bedi in the 15th century.

Traditionally, the authorities of Raghab Das and Gopal Tirtha mutts at Puri provide the elephant attire for the Srimandir deities.

As per the belief, the deities catch fever soon after the bathing ritual. The ailing deities are taken to Anasara Gruha (isolation room) for their medication.

The deities usually undergo medication for 14 days at Anasara Gruha. The devotees are not allowed to visit the deities in these 14 days. Upon their recovery from fever, the deities reappear before the devotees on the occasion of Nabajauban Darshan, before embarking on a nine-day sojourn to Srigundicha temple on the occasion of Rath Yatra.