The Grand Road, facing the temple's bathing mandap, was packed from early morning till late night. The ambience reverberated with chants and hymns as the idols of the Deities were escorted from the sanctum sanctorum to the bathing altar amidst ceremonial procession in the morning. From evening till night, devotees watched the Deities in elephant attire (hati besha). Since the Deities could be viewed by standing on Grand Road outside the temple, a number of non-Hindus, who are not allowed into the shrine, thronged in large numbers to catch the rare spectacle.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]

"I cannot enter the temple. Debasnan Purnima and Rath Yatra are the two occasions in a year where we can catch glimpse of the Deities without entering the temple. On Debasnan Purnima, the Deities come to the bathing altar that can be seen by standing outside the temple," said Michale Balaram, an ISKCON tourist from Russia.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]

"Though I was completely drenched, I did not feel any pain. It was a rare privilege to catch glimpse of the Deities," said Pragyan Hota, a devotee from Bhubaneswar. Tears rolled down from the eyes of 70-year-old Bhagyalaxmi Tripathy as she offered prayers. "I was not scared about the crowd and hostile weather," she said.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]

The temple administration banned devotees from touching the Deities on the bathing altar. Chaos had erupted during Debasnan Purnima in 2016 and 2017 when several unruly servitors allowed their guests to touch the Deities and damaged the headgear of Their Lordships.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]

Security was tightened for smooth conduct of the festival. Temple authorities said the rituals went on smoothly. "The festival was peaceful. No untoward incident was reported," said Superintendent of Police (Puri) Sarthak Sarangi.

[ Photo: Sampradaya Sun ]