Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri will remain out of bounds for devotees for four hours on Wednesday for the ‘Banakalagi ritual’ of the sibling deities.
According to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), public darshan at the 12th-century shrine will remain suspended from 5 pm to 9 pm for the special ritual, which will be conducted at the end of the second Bhoga Mandap ritual of the sibling deities.
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’.
After the completion of the ritual, the deities will be given ceremonial bath also known as ‘Maha Snana’, after which the door of the temple will be opened for devotees.
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