Why is There Silence at Puri’s Jagannath Temple?

Before the grand Rath Yatra, Puri’s Jagannath Temple enters a phase of silence known as Anasara. For the next 15 days, bells and conch shells will not sound, loud bhajans will stop, and the deities will remain in seclusion.

This period is considered as the time when Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra fall ill and undergo special Ayurvedic treatment under the supervision of Daitapatis. They are anointed with herbal pastes and fragrant oils.

Today, on Snana Purnima, the deities were given a grand bath with 108 pitchers of scented water and adorned in Gajanana Vesha (elephant-like attire). After this, they will enter Anasara until the Rath Yatra.