Puri: The Odisha Government has approved the relocation of empty almirahs and treasure chests from the Ratna Bhandar of Puri’s Srimandir. These empty almirahs and treasure chests will be moved to a room adjacent to the Niladri Vihar temple museum on August 23.
The process, set to begin at 1 pm, will necessitate a temporary suspension of public darshan and a rescheduling of temple rituals until completion. The relocation follows the earlier transfer of treasures to temporary strong rooms after the Ratna Bhandar’s opening in July.
Due to their size exceeding the treasury door, the almirahs and chests remained, prompting a request for additional SOPs from the Temple Managing Committee.
With the state government’s directive, preparations are underway. Post-relocation, the ASI will inspect the Ratna Bhandar for hidden compartments and undertake necessary repairs.
Puri Srimandir To Be Closed For 4 Hrs For Banaklagi Ritual Of Holy Trinity
On August 21 (Wednesday), darshan will be closed from 5 pm to 9 pm for the Banaklagi ritual of the Holy Trinity performed by the Duttamahapatras.
Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra will adorn a new look after a special make-up ritual known as the ‘Banakalagi’.
In view of the secret rituals, the general darshan of the sibling deities will be restricted for about four hours from 5 PM to 9 PM, the temple administration informed this evening. The formal procedure will be performed on the second Bhoga Mandap behind the Garuda pillar of Jagamohan.
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 cultural experts, Banakalagi derives its name from ‘Bana’ which means forest and ‘Lagi’ means to apply. Certain and rare forest produces are 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.
