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Snana Yatra is the famous bathing festival celebrated on the full moon day (poornima) in the month of Jyeshtha according to Hindu calendar. The yatra is also known as Vidokta festival. the first festival of the year, Snana yatra is the time when the deities of the Jagannath temple- Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, Sudarshan, and Madanmohan are brought out from the Temple in puri and taken to the Snana Bedi where they are bathed and decorated to be taken out amongst public or devotees.
There are various traditional facets of the festival. Traditionally, after the Snana Yatra the deities are believed to fall ill and are kept in a sick room to recuperate in privacy under the care of the Raj Vaidya who was the royal physician of the king of Puri. It is said that the Gods recover in a fortnightwith the help of the ayurvedic medication (pnachan) given by the Raj Vaidya.
According to the Skanda Purana, first one to arrange for this ceremony was the King Indradyumna when the idols of the deities were first installed. People who visit the Snana Yatra every year from various parts of the country strong believes that visiting the pilgrimage on the day would cleanse all of their sins.