Public darshan at Puri Srimandir will be restricted for three hours today due to ‘Banakalagi’ rituals of Lord Jagannath and His Siblings.
Darshan of the Holy Trinity at the Srimandir will be suspended from 6 PM to 9 PM today in view of the rituals.
This will be the first ‘Banakalagi’ ritual of the Holy Trinity after their 'Niladri Bije' following the annual Rath Yatra.
What Is 'Banakalagi' Ritual?
In this ritual, Mahaprabhu Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra undergo a special makeover ritual on the 'Ratnabedi'.
The Dutta Mohapatra servitors will perform the rituals, the traditional ‘shringar’, of the Sibling deities at the shrine.
Literally, ‘Banaka’ means colours and this ritual means decoration of the face of the deities.
This ritual involves careful repainting of the deities using various traditional organic colours by the Dutta Mahapatra servitors.
These colours include haritala (red), hengula (yellow), sankha (white), and kala (black) sourced from rare forest products. These are meticulously applied by the Dutta Mahapatra servitors.