Bhubaneswar, Sep 29: The Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri will remain closed for public darshan for four hours on Wednesday, September 30, due to the performance of the sacred Banakalagi Niti of the Holy Trinity.

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), through a notification, informed devotees about the temporary suspension of darshan. According to the notification, the Banakalagi ritual will be performed on Ashwin Krushna Chaturthi Tithi. Following the completion of the second Bhoga Mandapa offering, public darshan will remain suspended from 6 pm to 10 pm.

Banakalagi Niti, also known as Srimukha Sringara, is one of the important rituals of Srimandir. During the ritual, the faces of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan on the Ratna Singhasana are repainted using traditional natural colours.

The ritual is traditionally performed twice a month, generally on a Wednesday or Thursday. The term ‘Banakalagi’ is associated with the traditional use of natural materials for the sacred face decoration of the deities.

The ritual takes around four to five hours to complete. During this period, the temple doors remain closed to devotees, while authorised Dutta Mohapatra servitors perform the sacred face decoration.

Devotees have been advised to plan their visit accordingly in view of the temporary suspension of public darshan.

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