Bhubaneswar: The Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri town will remain closed for devotees for four hours on Wednesday on the occasion of the ‘Banaka Lagi’ (‘Srimukha Sringara’) ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.
Devotees will not be able to have darshan of the Trinity from 5 pm to 9 pm on Wednesday. During the rituals, a small group of servitors will be permitted inside the sanctum sanctorum (‘garbha gruha’).
All the three dieties – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra accompanied by Lord Sudarshan will wear a new look after a special ritual on Ratnabedi’ (pedestal) inside the ‘garbha gruha’). According to sources, this ritual is performed about seven to eight times every year.
Experts said certain rare forest produce is used on the occasion to prepare the four types of dyes –‘haritala’ (red), ‘hengula’ (yellow), ‘sankha’ (white), and black. These colours are applied to the face of the deities.
Meanwhile, the road from Jagannath temple office to Singhadwar (Lions Gate) of the temple will remain closed until January 21 for construction work of the Puri Heritage Corridor.
