Puri: The Holy Trinity (Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra) along with Lord Sudarshan of Puri Srimandir will adorn a new look after a special make-up ritual today known as the ‘Banaka Lagi’.
General darshan at Srimandir will be restricted from 6 pm to 10 pm following ditiya bhoga.
As per tradition, the ‘shringar’ rituals of the sibling deities are generally held seven to eight times a year starting with the one after the Niladri Bije ritual following Rath Yatra.
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.
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