Bhubaneswar: The Jagannath temple in Puri will remain closed for five hours on Thursday for the Banakalagi ritual of sibling deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
As a result, devotees will be barred from the darshan of the sibling deities from 6 pm to 11 pm tomorrow. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has issued a notification in this regard.
The Bhog Mandap will be closed after the second bhog offering, and the temple will be inaccessible to the general public during the specified time. Devotees are requested to plan their visit accordingly.
According to sources, the Banakalagi Niti, also known as Shrimukha Sringara, is performed on Wednesday or Thursday.
Fresh colours are applied to the idols of the deities as part of the ritual. Natural colours like Hingula, Haritala, Kasturi, Keshar, and the glue of Kaintha are used to prepare a Banaka.
As per tradition, the Dutta Mohapatra servitors and Khadiprasad Daitapati servitors perform the rituals.
Banaka is prepared using ‘kasturi’, ‘harital’, ‘karpura’, ‘kesar’, ‘kalasankha’ and ‘dhalasankha’.
The garbhagruha or sanctum sanctorum of the temple remains closed, and no outsiders are allowed inside during this ritual.
