Puri: Darshan of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Ma Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra in Puri’s Srimandir will be restricted for four hours on Wednesday for ‘Banaka Lagi’ or ‘Srimukha Sringara’ ritual of the deities.
According to temple sources, the secret ritual will be performed by Dutta Mohapatra servitors for which the 12th-century shrine will remain closed for visitors between 6.00 pm and 10.00 pm. Darshan of the deities will be out of bounds for devotees during this period.
According to sources, Banaka Lagi is performed by a particular class of servitor called Datta Mahapatra. Datta Mohapatra servitors will perform the secret ritual, the traditional ‘shringar’ of the deities at the 12th-century shrine.
According to culture expert Surya Narayan Ratha Sharma, Banaka Lagi derives its name from ‘Bana’ means forest and ‘Lagi’ means to apply. Certain rare forest products used to prepare four types of colours- such as haritala (red), hengula (yellow), sankha (white) and black are applied on the face of the deities. The secret ritual takes a few hours of judicious painting.
