Stalemate ends, Banakalagi ritual held in Puri Srimandir

The impasse over the Banakalagi ritual in Puri Srimandir was finally over and this secret ritual of the Lord Jagannath and his siblings was performed on Wednesday. For this, the public darshan of the holy trinity was suspended for five hours on Wednesday 

This secret ritual should have been performed after Niladri Bije. But due to the dispute over the day of the ritual between the Dattamohapatra servitors and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), it was not held. 

Finally, the ritual was performed, much to the relief of the devotees. The servitors entered the temple at 5.45 pm to perform the ritual and the darshan of the deities was suspended. 

In this ritual, fresh coats of herbal colours are applied to the deities by Dattamohapatra servitors. Four main colours black, white, red and yellow are used for this. 

Except ‘kasturi’, all the ingredients are provided by the SJTA.
 
“Black colour is specifically required for the ritual. A lamp with sesame oil is lit and ‘Kajjala’ is collected. Before applying it on the face of Lord Jagannath, several other ingredients are added to it and a mix is prepared,” informed Suryanarayan Rathasharma, a Jagannath researcher. 

“For the ritual, ‘Haritala’, 'Hingula’, ‘Kajjala’, ‘Keshara’ and ‘Karpura’ are required. ‘Kasturi’ is no longer available,” informed servitor, Sanjay Dattamohaptra. 

 “After completion of the ritual, the face of Lord Jagannath looks very beautiful. It seems he is the most beautiful person in the world,” said a devotee.