Puri: Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town will remain out of bounds for devotees for five hours for Banakalagi ritual on Wednesday.
According to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), darshan of the sibling deities will remain suspended from 5 pm to 10 pm for the special ritual, which will be conducted after the end of the second Bhoga Mandap ritual.
The ritual is traditionally performed by the Dutta Mohapatra and the Khadiprasad Daitapati servitors during which fresh colours are applied to the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabahadra and Devi Subhadra inside the sanctum sanctorum.
Banakalagi Niti or Shrimukha Sringara is performed several times in a year, using natural colours prepared from herbs and other materials including ‘kasturi’, ‘harital’, ‘karpura’, ‘kesar’, ‘kalasankha’ and ‘dhalasankha’.
Three Dattamahapatra sevakas after grinding the ‘Banaka’ climb up the throne taking the paste and start the “Banakalagi” (painting the images).
