Puri: Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town will remain out of bounds for devotees for four hours on Wednesday for ‘Banaka Lagi’ or ‘Srimukha Sringara’ ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.
The darshan of the deities will be restricted from 5 pm to 9 pm. Only a small group of servitors will be allowed inside the ‘garba gruha’ or sanctum sanctorum for the rituals, sources said.
Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra along with Lord Sudarshan will adorn a new look after a special make-up ritual on Ratnabedi’ (pedestal) inside the sanctum sanctorum. The ritual is performed seven to eight times a year and this is the first of this year.
According to cultural experts, certain rare forest products are used to prepare the four types of colours- ‘haritala’ (red), ‘hengula’ (yellow), ‘sankha’ (white), and black and these are then applied to the face of the deities on this occasion.
It is pertinent to mention here that the road from Jagannath temple office to Singhadwar (Lions Gate) of the temple will remain closed until January 21.
While speaking to media persons on January 6, the deputy collector of Puri district Bhaba Taran Sahu said since the works of the heritage corridor project around the temple would be taken up, this stretch would remain closed for the use of devotees and visitors.
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