Puri, Nov 26: Public darshan will remain closed on Wednesday for at least five hours for the conduct of Banaka Lagi rituals of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra , informed the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration(SJTA) authorities.
According to the schedule issued by the SJTA, the Banaka Lagi Niti will be performed from 5-10 PM today. During the Banaka Lagi rituals, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra will be treated with herbal therapy.
Banaka Lagi Ritual is one of the important formalities, wherein the presiding deities of the Puri Jagannath Temple are periodically served with royal massages. Following the rituals, the Trinity gets attractive makeup with the herbal treatment.
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 servitors known as Datta Mahapatra.
