Devotees to Miss Darshan of Deities for 4 Hr Tomorrow for Banakalagi Ritual of Sri Jagannath

Puri: The Banakalagi ritual of Lord Jagannath will be performed in Srimandir of Puri on Wednesday. Because of this, the Jagannath temple in Puri will remain closed for four hours for devotees, from 5 pm to 9 pm.

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.

“The Banakalagi Niti of deities at Puri Srimandir will be held on Krushna Dashami Mala Tithi in the month of Kartik, i.e. on November 8, 2023, Wednesday. Hence, the darshan will be restricted for devotees from 5 pm to 9 pm after the end of the second Bhogamandap Bhoga ritual,” the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) informed through a notification on Tuesday.

The Banakalagi ritual was last conducted on October 5.