Tirumala temple to be closed for lunar eclipse on July 16

Tirumala: There will be no issuing of Divya Darshan (DD) and Slotted Sarva Darshan (SSD) tokens for the darshan of Lord on July 16 (Tuesday) due to lunar eclipse. The TTD decided to cancel the issuing of these tokens to pilgrims keeping in view of the limited hours availability for darshan in Tirumala temple on Tuesday due to the performance of Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam.

The temple will be closed for darshan from 7 pm onwards on that day as Tirumanjanam is held in the temple from morning 6 to 12 noon. The temple will be reopened next day at 5 am. According to TTD almanac, the lunar eclipse falls between 1.31 am and lasts up to 4.29 am on July 17.

Since it is a tradition to close the temple six hours prior to eclipse, the temple remains closed from 7 pm of July 16 till 5 am of July 17.

In other words, the darshan will be available for common pilgrims on Tuesday (July 16) only for five hours between 12 pm to 5 pm as against the normal timings of from morning to midnight. Due to full moon eclipse, the rejigging of the arrangements was made by the administration keeping in view of the temple remains closed for nearly 10 hours leaving less time availability for darshan to pilgrims.

On the other hand, Annaprasadam distribution also remains closed. "To avoid any inconvenience to multitude of visiting pilgrims, TTD has taken the decision to cancel the DD and SSD tokens on July 16 as the temple remains opens only for five hours on that day between 12 noon to 5 pm following eclipse, a temple official explained.

Devotees will be allowed to enter the VQC compartments on the midnight of July 15 and will be allowed for darshan (from 12 noon till 5pm of July 16). Both I and II queue complexes will be kept empty after 5 pm after darshan timing is over on Tuesday as Annaprasadam distribution will also be stopped to pilgrims on that day following eclipse and temple closes at 7 pm on July 16.

While on July 17, when the temple door opens at 5 am after the eclipse, rituals like suddhi and punyahavachanam are performed while Suprabhatam, Thomala, Archana and Koluvu will be performed in Ekantam. The devotees will be allowed to enter VQC compartments only from 5 am onwards on July 17, a TTD official said, adding that TTD also cancelled the monthly Pournami Garuda Seva on July 16 following the eclipse.

Kalyanotsavam, Unjal Seva, Arjitha Brahmotsavam, Vasanthotsavam and Sahasra Deepalankara Sevas have also been cancelled in connection with Anivara Asthanam on July 17. The Sarva Darshanam commences only from 12 noon onwards as Asthanam is observed inside temple. In the evening Pushpa Pallaki will be observed.

In view of full moon eclipse, Annaprasadam will not be prepared and served at the food courts, MTVAC, PAC canteen, employees canteen, SVGH canteen in Tirumala from 7 pm of July 16 till 9 am on July 17.

However, 20,000 food packets will be distributed to pilgrims from 3 pm till 7 pm on July 16 at Nadaneerajanam platform, Vaibhavotsava Mandapam and SV Museum areas. Keeping all this in view, the devotees are requested to plan their pilgrimage to Tirumala accordingly to avoid any inconvenience due to limited hours of darshan on July 16 and 17.