Tirumala temple remains closed for 11 hours
TTD officials and priests close the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple due to lunar eclipse at Tirumala on Tuesday
Tirumala: On account of lunar eclipse, Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala remained closed for about 11 hours from 08.30 am to 7.30 pm Tuesday. . Lunar eclipse occurred between 2.39 pm in afternoon till 6.27 pm in evening and following the age-ole temple practice, the shrine was closed for six hours before the start of the eclipse.
The temple reopened after the end of eclipse and darshan resumed after Sudhi (cleansing) and other rituals TTD cancelled VIP break darshan and also all Arjitha sevas Srivani Trust donors darshan and Rs 300 special entry tickets (SED)also, allowing only Sarva darshan. All the local temples of TTD in and around Tirupati also remained closed from 8:30 am onwards.
They included Sri Govindaraja Swamy temple, Sri Kodanda Ramalayam both in Tirupati and Chandragiri, Appalayagunta, Srinivasa Mangapuram and Kapileswara Swamy temple.
However, in Sri Kapileswara Swamy temple, Annabhishekam was performed during the wee hours between 3:30am and 5:30am. Devotees were provided Annalinga Darshanam till 7.30am.