Puri: The abode of Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Srimandir, will remain shut for the devotees for five hours today from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm on the occasion of Banakalagi niti.
After finishing the evening prayers (arati) the ‘Dattamahapatra’ servitors will conduct the Banakalagi rituals of the Lords on the ‘Ratnabedi’. To maintain the secrecy of the ritual, the Banakalagi ritual is performed behind closed doors. For this the Srimandir will be shut today for five hours.
The ‘Jaya Vijaya’ doors will remain closed. For the ritual, the servitors prepare natural dyes using traditional methods. Hingula, Haribola, Kasturi, red, white and black colours are used to decorate the Lords faces. A ‘Maha-snana’ (great bath) of the deities follows the Banakalagi ritual at Srimandir.
After the completion of all the rituals, the devotees will be allowed to pay obeisance to the Lords.
