Hare Krishna, tomorrow is Snāna-yātrā. Here is a little information what is it!
Śrī Guru-Praṇāma:
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya
jñānāñjana-śalākayā
caksur unmīlitaṁ yena
tasmai śrī-guruve namaḥ
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.”
Two important verses:
suna suna nityananda, suna haridasa
sarvatra amara ajna karaha prakasa
prati ghare ghare giya kara ei bhiksa
‘bala krsna, bhaja krsna, kara krsna-siksa’
“Listen, listen, Nityananda! Listen, Haridasa! Make My command known everywhere! Go from house to house and beg from all the residents, ‘Please chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, and practise what Krishna teaches.’” (Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, 2.13.8-9)
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā
“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverence is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”
Mahā-mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa:
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Article: Snana Yatra
On snāna-yātrā day a very festive mahābhiṣeka of Śrī Jagannātha, Baladeva and Subhadrā-devī is performed according to rules and regulations. Brahmā and all the other demigods participate in this ceremony without being seen. Afterwards, the curtain of the Jagannātha temple is closed and there is no darśana for fifteen days, because Śrī Jagannātha becomes sick from bathing too much.
This period is called anavasara, and Lakṣmījī serves Him alone at that time. During that period, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the embodiment of vipralambha-rasa, used to go to Ālālanātha, because He was so restless in separation from Jagannātha. After anavasara, on the second day of śukla-pakṣa, the waxing moon, from the day after the dark moon till the full moon, Śrī Jagannātha, Baladeva and Subhadrā ascend three different chariots and start their journey for Sundarācala (Guṇḍicā).
But Śrī Jagannātha-deva does not tell His wife Lakṣmījī that He is going to Vṛndāvana. After sporting for nine days in Vṛndāvana (Sundarācala), He returns to Śrī Mandira in Nīlācala. Going to Sundarācala is called ratha-yātrā, the day they come back from there is called the return yātrā, and the fifth day from the beginning of the ratha-yātrā, and the fifth day from the beginning of the ratha-yātrā is called herā-pañcamī.
Excerpt From: Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja. “Ācārya Kesari Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī.”
