The Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala and other major temples in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana shut their doors on Tuesday due to a lunar eclipse. The closure was part of traditional rituals performed by the priests, with plans to reopen after the eclipse ends and purification rites are conducted.
The lunar eclipse began at 3:20 p.m. and ended at 6:47 p.m. on Tuesday, leading to the closure of the Tirumala temple six hours before the eclipse started. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) announced that the temple doors would reopen at 7:30 p.m. following purification rituals and religious procedures, allowing devotees to resume darshan from 8:30 p.m. onwards.
In light of the lunar eclipse, the temple authorities canceled Arjitha Sevas and VIP Break Darshans for the day. Additionally, other temples under the administration of TTD in Tirupati and nearby areas were also closed during this period. Temples like the Mallikarjuna Temple in Srisailam, Kodandarama Temple at Vontimitta, and Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Temple in Bhadrachalam were among those temporarily shut.
