Telugu States’ temples reopen after lunar eclipse purification rituals

Major temples across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, including Tirumala, Srisailam and Bhadrachalam, reopened early Monday after purification rituals following the lunar eclipse. Darshan resumed for devotees, with Tirumala distributing 50,000 Pulihora packets as Annaprasadam during the closure.

Tirupati: All major temples in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were reopened early Monday after purification rituals following the lunar eclipse.

The doors of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple atop Tirumala near here were reopened at 2.40 a.m. after priests performed shuddhi and Punyahavachanam rituals. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of the famous hill shrine, said the doors were closed in a traditional manner at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Devotees were allowed to have darshan from 6 a.m.

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The lunar eclipse began at 9:50 p.m. and ended at 1:31 a.m. on Monday. Devotees who have no tokens will have to wait for 12 hours for darshan. According to TTD, devotees have been waiting in 18 compartments.

The Annaprasadam wing of TTD had prepared and distributed 50,000 ‘Pulihora’ packets among devotees on Sunday, as even the main Annaprasadam Complex, Vakulamata, PAC 2 and Vaikuntham Canteens were closed owing to the eclipse. The Annaprasadam activity commenced from 8 a.m. on Monday.

Other major temples in both the Telugu states, which were also shut on account of the lunar eclipse on Sunday, reopened early Monday. Mallikarjuna Temple in Srisailam, Kodandarama Temple at Vontimitta, Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Temple in Bhadrachalam, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Yadadri, Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Simhachalam and Kanaka Durga Temple at Vijayawada were reopened for devotees after purification rituals.

The priests of the Srisailam temple reopened the doors at 5 a.m. after performing the rituals. The devotees were allowed for darshan from 7.30 a.m. It’s common for temples to shut their doors during solar and lunar eclipses. The authorities cancel darshan and all sevas during eclipses.

Sri Suryanarayana Swami Temple, also known as Sun Temple at Arasavalli in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and Saraswati temple at Basar and Sri Raja Rajeswari temple at Vemulawada in Telangana, also reopened on Monday morning.