Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town has been closed for devotees for four hours for Banakalagi ritual of the sibling deities on Wednesday.
As per the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), darshan inside the 12th century shrine will be closed from 7 pm to 11 pm for the special ritual.
A senior servitor of the temple told reporters that this is the last Banakalagi ritual being conducted before the upcoming Rath Yatra.
The special ritual is being performed on the occasion of ‘Pratipada’ of the Shukla fortnight in the month of Jyestha.
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.
Banakalagi is performed with natural colours prepared from herbs and other materials including ‘kasturi’, ‘harital’, ‘karpura’, ‘kesar’, ‘kalasankha’ and ‘dhalasankha’.
Devotees can resume darshan after 11 pm once the ritual is complete. The ritual is performed several times in a year.
