Gundicha Marjan 2025: Date, Rituals & Spiritual Significance of Temple Cleansing Before Jagannath Rath Yatra

Gundicha Marjan 2025: Date, Rituals & Spiritual Significance of Temple Cleansing Before Jagannath Rath Yatra (image: SCSseva)

Every year, a day before the grand Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha, a deeply spiritual ritual called Gundicha Marjan is performed at the Gundicha Temple. Scheduled this year for Thursday, June 26, 2025, Gundicha Marjan is more than just a temple cleaning ceremony—it is an act of devotion, humility, and inner purification.

What is Gundicha Marjan?

Gundicha Marjan refers to the ceremonial cleaning of the Gundicha Temple, where Lord Jagannath, along with Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, resides during the Rath Yatra festival. It’s a day filled with spiritual energy, selfless service, and deep reverence for the Lord.

This ritual was first initiated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who personally participated in cleaning the temple with great devotion. His example inspired generations of devotees to engage in this sacred task not just physically, but as a way of cleansing the heart and mind in preparation to welcome the divine.

Gundicha Marjan 2025 Date

The rituals begin early in the morning when temple servitors, priests, and devotees arrive with brooms, buckets, and water drawn from sacred sources. They sweep and wash every part of the Gundicha Temple—including the floors, walls, inner sanctum, and courtyards—with deep devotion.

• Devotional songs (kirtans) fill the air.
• Flowers and sandalwood are used to purify the sanctum.
• Each action is a symbolic cleansing of one's inner self, echoing the belief that the Lord resides only in a heart that is pure and humble.

Gundicha Marjan isn’t just about tidying up a temple—it symbolizes purifying the soul. Devotees believe that by cleaning the Lord’s temporary abode, they are also preparing their own hearts to receive divine energy during Rath Yatra.

• It’s a practice of bhakti (devotion) in action.
• It highlights selfless service (seva) as a spiritual path.
• The ritual connects devotees to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings on humility, surrender, and love for the Lord.

Located about 3 km from the Shri Jagannath Temple, Gundicha Temple is where the deities stay during the 9-day Rath Yatra. It is considered sacred as Lord Jagannath’s maternal aunt’s house and thus holds emotional and spiritual value in the Odisha Rath Yatra tradition.

Why Gundicha Marjan Matters?

For devotees, this event is more than ritual—it’s a moment of introspection, a call to cleanse not just temples but hearts, and an invitation to start the spiritual journey of Rath Yatra on a pure note.