Puri: The internationally recognised sand artist Manas Kumar Sahoo through his art of sand animation represented Snana Purnima of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
The story behind the Gajanan Besha (Hathi Besha) of Lord Jagannath and his siblings has been represented with grace and glamour. The trinities Snana Purnima along with the reason and the devotees responsible for Lord’s ‘Hathi Besha’ was beautifully showcased through the sand animation.
There was a devotee named Ganapati Bhatt from South India. He was an ardent devotee to Lord Ganesh and had eyes only for his Gajanana. He came all the way from south to get a glimpse of Lord Jagannath and tried to find his Lord Ganesh in him. Upon seeing his distress, Lord Jagannath being the devotee’s God appeared in Gajanan Besha for him.
Ganapati Bhatt was so immersed in his devotion that the divine Lord Jagannath appeared to him as Black Elephant and Lord Balabhadra as White Elephant. This is our Lord Jagannath’s miracle, he takes the form that his devotees long for. This whole story has been enchantingly described through sand animation by the sand artist Manas Sahoo.
However, the sand artist took 18 hours to complete the sand animation. This sand animation vividly describes the sweet relationship shared between the God and the devotees.
