Puri: Public darshan at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri will remain suspended for four hours on Wednesday evening to facilitate the performance of the sacred Banakalagi niti of the deities, the temple administration said on Tuesday.
According to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), darshan will be restricted from 6 pm to 10 pm, following the completion of the second Bhogamandap bhog.
Banakalagi, also known as Srimukha Sringara, is an important ritual during which the faces of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan, seated on the Ratna Singhasana, are adorned with fresh coats of natural colours.
The ritual is traditionally performed twice a month, usually on Wednesdays or Thursdays, and takes around four to five hours to complete.
During the observance, the temple doors remain closed to devotees, while only the Dutta Mohapatra servitors are permitted to carry out the sacred face-decoration ritual using natural ingredients.
The term Banakalagi is associated with the traditional use of forest-derived materials in the ritual.
