Puri: Shree Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri town will remain closed for devotees for five hours for Banakalagi ritual of the sibling deities on Wednesday.
According to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), the darshan inside the temple will be closed from 5 pm to 10 pm for the special ritual, which will be conducted after the end of the Bhoga Mandap ritual.
According to sources, Wednesday marks Kartika Krishna Trayodashi Tithi, a special occasion for the Banakalagi Niti, during which fresh colours are applied to the idols.
The ritual is traditionally performed by the Dutta Mohapatra servitors and the Khadiprasad Daitapati servitors.
During the secret ritual of Banakalagi Niti or Shrimukha Sringara, fresh colours are applied to the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabahadra and Devi Subhadra inside the sanctum sanctorum. Dutta Mohapatra and Khadiprasad Daitapati servitors perform this ritual.
Banakalagi is performed with natural colours prepared from herbs and other matrials including ‘kasturi’, ‘harital’, ‘karpura’, ‘kesar’, ‘kalasankha’ and ‘dhalasankha’.
Devotees can resume darshan after 10 pm once the ritual is complete. The ritual is performed several times in a year.
The holy practice was embroiled in a controversy as it was discontinued after Rath Yatra last year following a dispute between the servitors of Dutta Mohapatra Nijog and SJTA over the day it should be performed. However, the matter was resolved and the ritual was resumed from August 9, last year.
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