Puri: The public darshan at Puri Jagannatha Temple will remain suspended for five hours tomorrow (Wednesday) in view of the Banakalagi Niti of the Holy Deities.
According to the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA), the Banakalagi Niti of the Holy deities will be performed after the completion of the Second Bhog Mandap offering, due to which the public darshan will remain suspended from 5 PM to 10 PM.
“On Wednesday, the 3rd December 2025, Margashira Shukla Trayodashi tithi, the Banakalagi Niti of the Holy Deities will be performed,” said the SJTA on its official X handle.
“Therefore, after the completion of the Second Bhog Mandap offering, public darshan will remain temporarily suspended from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM,” it added.
What is Banakalagi Niti?
The ritual of applying Sringar (makeup) on the face of the three deities is called Banakalagi Niti or Banakalagi rituals. A group of special servitors called ‘Dattamahapatras’ perform the Banakalagi rituals during which they climb to the Ratna Singhasana and apply the Srimukha Sringar.
The Dattamahapatras prepare the colour for the srimukh Sringar by suing dyes and other expensive perfumes such as musk and kesar (saffron).
The shell is crushed to make white while the yellow colour is prepared from Haritala, and black colour is made out of Hingula. Camphor and saffron are added to these colours and then applied on the face of the three deities.
All the doors of the temple remain completely closed when the Banakalagi ritual is performed.
There is a dedicated room on the north side of the inner circumference (Bhitara Bedha) for preparing the special colors for the deities. It is called Banakalagi house.
