Puri, June 11 -- Lakhs of devotees thronged the grand road of this pilgrim city on Wednesday to witness the magnificent royal bathing ceremony and the "Hati Vesha" of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra, and their sister Devi Subhadra of the Sri Jagannath Temple.
The royal bathing ceremony, popularly known as Snan Purnima, is considered a major ritual preceding the famous Car Festival or Rath Yatra of the deities.
As per tradition, the holy triad was ceremoniously escorted from the Ratnasinhasan in the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple to the Snana Vedi in the early hours of Wednesday by the Daita servitors in a grand "Pahandi" procession, accompanied by chants of "Jai Jagannath."
The air resonated with the music of drums, cy...