‘Banakalagi’ Stalemate Continues At Puri Jagannath Temple, Niti Sub-Committee Meeting Tomorrow

Puri: A day after warning a section of servitors of stern disciplinary action for not performing the Banakalagi (facial) ritual of the sibling deities, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Ranjan Kumar Das on Thursday said they will decide on the next course of action on the basis of recommendation of Niti sub-committee.

“The issue will be discussed in the meeting tomorrow and accordingly, the next course of action will be taken,” he said.

Das further said that they had been holding discussions with sevayats and also at the administrative over the delay in the ritual. “The sevitors are adamant on their demand. It is their duty to carry out the orders of the shrine administration. This is not about any individual but the Lords’ rituals that are paramount,” he added.

Despite arrangements for the conduct of ‘Banakalagi’ (facial) at Srimandir by SJTA, the Dattamahapatra servitors did not perform the ritual till Wednesday night.

Also Read: No Change In Banakalagi Ritual Day, Says Puri Jagannath Temple Admn; Warns Of Strict Action

The servitors have been demanding that the ritual be performed every Thursday, which they emphasise is mentioned in the Records of Rights and changed to Wednesday in 2018. The temple administration, on the other hand, has been trying to reason that the darshan of the Lords will be restricted and other rituals will be delayed if the Banakalagi Niti is conducted on Thursday since another ritual ‘Ekanta Majana Niti’ is scheduled for the same day.

Das said that the Record of Rights clearly state that the ‘Banakalagi Niti’ has to be conducted on Wednesdays and can be postponed to Thursday in case they not unable to perform it the day before due to some unavoidable situation and an unanimous decision in this regard was taken in 2018.

The temple administration had also issued a show-cause to the servitors in this regard.

Banakalagi is performed using ‘kasturi’, ‘harital’, ‘karpura’, ‘kesar’, ‘kalasankha’ and ‘dhalasankha’. During the ritual, the darshan of the deities remains suspended for four hours.