Bhubaneswar: The Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri will be closed for public darshan for five hours on Wednesday for the Banakalagi Niti (ritual of painting the deities’ idols).
According to reports, darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings will be restricted from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Wednesday. The ritual will take place on the occasion of Margashirsha Krushna Dwadashi, as announced by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on ‘X’.
— Shree Jagannatha Temple Office, Puri (@SJTA_Puri) November 26, 2024
Darshan will be closed after the completion of the ‘Dwitiya Bhogamandap’ ritual, the SJTA confirmed.
During the Banakalagi Niti, special materials such as ‘kasturi’, ‘harital’, ‘karpura’, ‘kesar’, ‘kalasankha’, and ‘dhalasankha’ are used for preparing the natural paints. The temple’s sanctum sanctorum (garbhagruha) will remain closed, and only the designated servitors, led by Dattamahapatra, will be allowed inside to perform the ritual.
