Temple towns, including Vemulawada, Bhadrachalam, wears deserted look as shrines closed due to total Lunar eclipse

The usually buzzing streets around the famous Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple in Vemulawada of Rajanna Sircilla district wore a deserted look from Sunday noon as the temple was closed several hours ahead of the total Lunar eclipse that occurred on the intervening night of September 7 and 8.

The portals of the historic temple, popularly known as Dakshin Kashi, were shut at 11.25 a.m. on Sunday. The priests closed the main entrance door of the temple in the presence of the temple executive officer L. Ramadevi.

The temple doors will be reopened at 3.45 a.m. on Monday (September 8) for purification rituals such as ‘Samprokshana’.

Devotees will be allowed to have darshan of the temple deity as per the daily schedule later on, temple sources said.

The doors of the subsidiary temples in the temple town were also closed at around the same time.

In Bhadradri Kothagudem district, the historic Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam was closed at 1 p.m. on Sunday in view of the astronomical event.

The portals of the temple will be reopened at 3 a.m. on Monday to perform Shuddi, Samprokshana and other purification rituals.

After the performance of Suprabhatam, Aaradhana, Seva Kalam and Nivedana rituals, devotees will be allowed for darshan at around 7.30 a.m.

The major temples — Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple in Dharmapuri of Jagtial district and Sri Kaleshwara Mukteeswara Swamy temple in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district — among other shrines remained closed for more than 12 hours due to the Lunar eclipse.