The following is an excerpt from an informal talk by Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj on Snan Yatra day in 2007.
Today is Snan Yatra in Puri Dham and the devotees of Lord Jagannath are observing this festival. On Snan Yatra day Lord Jagannath is coming out of the main temple for bathing, and He is sitting
Sri Jagannath, Baladev and Subadra
inside the temple walls so from the main doors people are coming and looking at Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra sitting in Their high singhasana. Then the pandas, the temple priests, are pouring water out of thousands of waterpots onto the heads of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra.
When Sri Mahaprabhu Chaitanyadev first went from South India to Puri Dham, many devotees from Bengal went there to meet with Him. At that time Raja Prataparudra (the king of Orissa and a great devotee of Lord Chaitanya) had already been convinced by Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and other devotees, so with a very melted heart he had arranged the accommodation for approximately 200 devotees that had arrived at Puri Dham and were witnessing the Snan Yatra.
Mahaprabhu in Puri Dham
By then, Lord Jagannath had come out of the main temple building but he was staying within the temple area on the east side of the temple. Sriman Mahaprabhu, accompanied by many devotees, was very happy to see the Snan Yatra. But after snan (the bathing) Lord Jagannath had a fever and he was sick with a cold. So for 15 days from that Snan Yatra, Lord Jagannath was not giving darshan and not taking bhoga either.
For this reason Sriman Mahaprabhu was feeling so much separation from Lord Jagannath. Sriman Mahaprabhu left Puri and went to Alanath and stayed there. But when He heard from Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and others that the devotees were coming from Bengal to see Him, to get His darshan, He went back to Puri Dham. And by the divine will of Lord Jagannath and Raja Prataparudra all the arrangements and accommodation for all the devotees were done. Raja Prataparudra’s heart was completely melted by Sriman Mahaprabhu, because he felt that Sriman Mahaprabhu was Krishna himself. However Sriman Mahaprabhu was not giving him darshan because Prataparudra was a king and at the time it was not proper for a sannyas to associate with a king. That was some sriti shastra (rules about the conduct of daily life).
Srila Govinda Maharaj in Puri Dham
Anyhow for these 15 days Lord Jagannath is not giving darshan. Sriman Mahaprabhu was staying in Alanath, which is about 13 miles away from Jagannath Puri. On one occasion Srila Guru Maharaj, Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, myself, and another one or two devotees went walking from Puri Dham to Alanath. There is also a Math of Srila Prabhupadha Saraswati Thakur there.
There are so many different pastimes of Lord Jagannath. This is also one kind of pastime. And then 15 days after the Snan Yatra, Lord Jagannath is happily taking some opulent food!