Bhubaneswar, June 29: The sacred Banakalagi ritual of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra will be performed at the Gundicha Temple in Puri on Monday, June 30, 2025. As part of the tradition, public darshan will be temporarily suspended for five hours to allow the ritual to be conducted without interruption.

The Shree Jagannatha Temple Office announced the schedule via its official X (formerly Twitter) handle. The ritual will take place on Ashadha Shukla Chaturthi with Panchami Tithi, following the completion of the second Bhoga Mandap Puja. Public darshan will be restricted from 9:00 PM to 2:00 AM.

Banakalagi Niti, also known as Shrimukha Sringara, is a traditional facial adornment ceremony where the deities' faces are repainted using natural and herbal colors. Performed by the Dutta Mohapatra servitors, the ritual is guided by age-old scriptures known as Banaka Pothi. The ceremony concludes with the divine painting of the eyes, marking the deities' symbolic restoration of vision.

Devotees planning to visit the Gundicha Temple are advised to adjust their schedules to avoid inconvenience during this spiritually significant ritual.

Powered by Froala Editor