Banaka Lagi ritual of Holy Trinity, Gundicha Temple in Puri to remain closed for 4 hours today

Puri: The Gundicha Temple at Odisha’s Puri will remain closed for four hours today due to ‘Banaka Lagi’ or Srimukha sringara ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings. The darshan of the deities will be restricted for the devotees for four hours from 7 PM to 11 PM.

Only a small group of ‘pujaris’ will be allowed inside the ‘garba gruha’ or sanctum sanctorum for the rituals.

The Holy Trinity (Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra) along with Lord Sudarshan of Puri Sri Mandir will adorn a new look after a special make-up ritual on the Adapa Mandap. The ritual is performed seven to eight times a year.

Banaka Lagi derives its name from ‘Bana’ meaning forest and ‘Lagi’ meaning apply. According to culture experts, certain rare forest products are used to prepare the four types of colours- haritala (red), hengula (yellow), sankha (white) and black and these are then applied to the face of the deities. Banaka Lagi ritual of the deities is performed by a particular class of servitor known as Datta Mahapatra.