Tirupati, March 3 : The doors of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple atop Tirumala near here and all major temples in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were closed on Tuesday due to lunar eclipse.

The priests closed the doors of the temples after performing rituals. They will be re-opened after the eclipse comes to an end and following purification rituals.

The lunar eclipse will commence at 3.20 p.m. and conclude at 6.47 p.m. on Tuesday. As per tradition, the doors of Tirumala temple were shut six hours prior to the commencement of the eclipse.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which administers the famous hill shrine, said the temple doors will reopen at 7.30 p.m., after performing purification rituals (Suddhi), Punyahavachanam, and other prescribed religious procedures,

Darshan for devotees will resume from 8:30 p.m. onwards.

The temple authorities have cancelled Arjitha Sevas and VIP Break Darshans for the day.

Other temples administered by TTD in Tirupati and surrounding areas have also been closed.

At Tiruchanoor, Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Temple and Sri Srinivasa Temple were shut on account of lunar eclipse.

Other major temples in both the Telugu states were also shut on account of lunar eclipse.

Mallikarjuna Temple in Srisailam, Kodandarama Temple at Vontimitta, Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Temple in Bhadrachalam, Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Yadadri and Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Simhachalam were also closed.

In Vijayawada, the doors of the Kanaka Durga Temple on the Indrakeeladri Hills along with the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy temple were closed by the priests and officials of the temple board on account of the partial lunar eclipse.

It's common for the temples to shut the doors during solar and lunar eclipse. The authorities cancel darshan and all sevas and reopen the temples evening after purification.

Sri Suryanarayana Swami Temple, also known as sun temple at Arasavalli in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh was also closed due to lunar eclipse.

Saraswati temple at Basar and Sri Raja Rajeswari temple at Vemulawada was also shut.

/IANS