Puri: Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri will remain closed for five hours on Wednesday for ‘Banaka Lagi’ or ‘Srimukha Sringara’ ritual of the siblings.
The darshan of the deities will be restricted from 5 pm to 10 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 Ratnabed (pedestal) inside the sanctum sanctorum. The ritual is performed seven to eight times a 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 soaring prices of Puri Mahaprasad during the Holy month of Kartika have led to resentment among devotees. With a large number of devotees from different parts of the state and outside visiting the seaside town during Kartika, the president of Suar and Mahasuar Nijog of the shrine Narayan Mahasuar alleged that some middlemen are exploiting the devotees.
He said a discussion has been held with the district Collector of Puri about the need to bring discipline in Ananda Bazaar and display rate charts of Mahaprasad.
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