Puri: The darshan of sibling deities of Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town will be closed for the devotees for performance of ‘Banaka Lagi’ ritual for 4 hours on Wednesday.
According to a notification of Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the doors of the main temple will remain closed to the devotees from 5 pm to 9 pm as the servitors will perform ‘Banaka Lagi’ ritual during the period.
As part of the ritual, the servitors will perform ‘Srimukha Sringara’ of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. During the ‘Srimukha Sringara’, fresh colours will be applied to all idols inside the sanctum sanctorum.
Natural colours from plants and herbs like Hingula, Haritala, Kasturi, Keshar and glue of Kaintha are used to prepare ‘Banaka’. After cleaning the idols of faded and old colours, the new paint will be applied and polished to give a fresh look.
The Duttamohapatra servitors will be engaged in performing ‘Banaka Lagi’ which is a secret ritual. They will enter the main temple after midday prayer is offered to the deities.
The ritual is performed as paints on the idols get faded during the Rath Yatra. The first round of the ‘Banaka Lagi’ was performed on July 20 when the temple was also closed for 5 hours in the evening.
