Hyderabad: Temples across the state will be closed from Saturday evening till Sunday morning because of lunar eclipse, which is to start around 1.05 am and last till 2:22 am in the wee hours of Sunday. All major temples have issued closure notices.
According to the Birla temple head priest M. Lakshmi Narasimha Acharyulu, “because of the eclipse from 5 pm on Saturday till ‘Samprokshana’ marking Sunday’s sun rise, the temple will be kept closed.”
Chilkur Balaji temple will remain closed for eight hours from 5.30 pm on Saturday. It will be opened for morning darshan around 7 am the next day.
Detailing about the significance of the event, Venugopala Dikshitulu, the chief priest at Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, said “Vedic literature instructs us to keep temples closed during any eclipse, be it solar or lunar.”
