Anasar ritual begins as Jagannath Temple closes after Snan Yatra

The annual Anasar ritual began after Lord Jagannath and sibling deities were ceremonially bathed during Snan Yatra in Puri. The deities remain in isolation for 14 days, with the temple closed until public darshan resumes ahead of the Rath Yatra

Puri: Lord Jagannath and his sibling deities had a massive ceremonial bath a day ago. This kicked off the ‘Anasar’ ritual on Tuesday as the divine trinity had fallen ‘sick’ and gone into isolation, requiring the 12th-century temple to remain closed for a fortnight.

The portals of the Shree Jagannath Temple will open a day before the Rath Yatra, which is on July 16 this year. A day before the Rath Yatra, the repainted idols are presented for public viewing at the sanctum sanctorum. According to the temple tradition, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra develop fever after the ‘Snan Yatra’, during which they are bathed with 108 pitchers of holy water.

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“They go into isolation and undergo treatment by the ‘Raj Vaidya’ (royal physician). As the ritual is a secret, devotees are not allowed to have a glimpse of the deities,” said Pandit Suryanarayan Rath Sharma, a religious scholar.

He said that during this period, deities are not offered their regular ‘Mahaprasad’ and are presented only fruits, cheese and Ayurvedic ‘ladoos’. “The deities are treated like human beings and recover from ‘illness’ during the 14-day isolation of the Anasar period,” Rath Sharma said.

When the sibling deities in Puri remain in isolation, devotees get a darshan at the Alarnath Temple in Brahmagiri, about 25 kilometres from Puri. Hundreds of people thronged the Alarnath temple on Tuesday, and the Puri district administration has made elaborate arrangements for the huge gathering.

“Anticipating a huge turnout of devotees from the state and outside, police have made elaborate arrangements and deployed seven platoons of police force. More than 50 CCTV cameras have also been strategically installed to monitor the crowd closely,” said Inspector General of Police (central range) Satyajit Naik.