On this full-moon day, sixteen days before Ratha- yatra, Lord Jagannatha is bathed. He becomes sick and is confined to rest for fourteen days. He is then offered special care until He comes out for Ratha-yatra. The Snan yatra bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannath has become one of the most popular festivals on the Iskcon calendar over the years since His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad introduced it to the world outside of India. Traditionally this festival has been going on since the time of the carving of the 'Dharu-brahman' Deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balaram, and Lady Subhadra in Sri Purushottam Kshetra (Jagannath Puri) thousands of years ago, commemorating Their sacred appearance for Their devotees – primarily the saintly King Maharaj Indradyumna.
Many of you would know that after the bathing ceremony the Lord catches a transcendental chill, are fed sweet foods and drinks to break Their fever, and then retires for Their 'Anavasara kala' – recuperation period. In Jagannath Puri where the Deities are painted with natural mineral paints, after the bathing ceremony the paints have a tendency to run and the Deities would be not viewable to the general public. So to allow the devotees to partake further in the Lord's pastimes, They made a special arrangement with one 'brahmin' who came to visit to take 'darshan' at this time. Lord Sri Krishna, Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe and so in essence is the original creator of everything, nothing exists w