Stalemate Continues Over Day Of ‘Banakalagi’ Ritual In Puri Jagannath Temple

Puri: Amid the impasse over Banakalagi (facial) ritual of the sibling deities at Jagannath temple in Odisha’s Puri town, Dattamohapatra Nijog (association of servitors who perform Banakalagi) secretary Madan Mohan Dutta Mohapatra on Tuesday informed that the ritual can only be conducted on Thursday.

The servitors’ body has submitted this request with Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), which has been pushing for conducting the ritual on Wednesdays.

The ritual has not been conducted since Niladri Bije (June 1), when the sibling deities returned to the sanctum sanctorum after the annual Rath Yatra. The disruption was initially attributed to scarcity of herbs required for it and later to a dispute between the servitors and SJTA over the day it should be performed.

The Nijog has stuck to its demand that the ritual should be performed every Thursday as per the temple records, which was changed to Wednesday in 2018. The temple administration, on the other hand, has been trying to reason that the darshan of the Lords will be restricted and other rituals will be delayed if the Banakalagi Niti is conducted on Thursday since another ritual ‘Ekanta Majana Niti’ is scheduled for the same day.

Amid the stalemate, the SJTA on July 21 issued a show-cause notice under Sections 20 and 30 of Shri Jagannath Temple Act to Dutta Mohapatra Nijog, seeking an explanation on why they are not performing the ritual within four days.

Speaking to media persons after a meeting of Chhattish Nijog on July 22, chief administrator of SJTA Ranjan Kumar Das had said a sub-committee has been formed to resolve the issue. The representatives of different nijogs are members of the sub-committee.

“There are different opinions of the nijogs on the day of performing Banakalagi ritual of the deities. The sub-committee will hold a meeting to be presided by the sub-collector. After the nijogs put forth their opinions, a decision will be taken at the meeting. The final day will be decided on the recommendation of the sub-committee,” he said.

On the other hand, Madan Mohan Dutta Mohapatra said, “The Banakalai should be performed on Thursday as per the record of rights. In case of any problem on that day, it can be brought back to Wednesday. Since we are prepared for this, the administration should not have any problem in this regard.”