Banakalagi Ritual of Sri Jagannath Today, No Darshan for 3&Half Hours

Puri: Devotees will be barred from having darshan of the deities at the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri for three-and-a-half hours on Wednesday because of the Banakalagi rituals.

The Odisha I&PR department informed this through a post on X stating, “Today, 15.6.2024, Wednesday, Jestha Krishna Chaturdashi Tithi, Banakalagi Niti of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra will be held. Therefore, after the conclusion of the Dwitiya Bhogamandap’, darshan will be closed from 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm.”

The Banakalagi Niti or Shrimukha Sringara is a secret ritual wherein a fresh coat of colours is applied to the idols of the Holy Trinity.

Along with the Dutta Mohapatra Sevaks, the Palia Pujapanda sevayats, the Garabadu sevayats, the Puspalakas, the Changada Mekapa sevakas, and the Mudulis will take part in the Banakalagi ritual.

After a ‘Maha Snana’ following Banakalagi, the temple will be reopened to devotees to have darshan of the deities.

According to cultural experts, Banakalagi derives its name from ‘Bana’ which means forest and ‘Lagi’ means to apply.

Certain and rare forest products are used to prepare four types of colours- such as haritala (red), hengula (yellow), sankha (white), and black are applied on the face of the deities.