Jagannath Temple in Puri to remain closed for 4 hours today

Puri: The Srimandir will remain closed for four hours on Wedensday due to ‘Banaka Lagi’ or Srimukha sringara ritual of Lord Jagannath and his siblings at the temple.

The darshan of the deities will be restricted for the devotees for four hours from 6 PM in the evening till 10 PM. After that the Jaya Bijay dwar will be closed from the inside.

The sevayats will perform the ritual in the Garva Gruha. 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.

As per tradition, the ‘shringar’ rituals of the sibling deities are generally held seven to eight times a year starting with the one after the Niladri Bije ritual following Rath Yatra.

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.