Tirupati, March 8 (IANS) The hill shrine of Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh was shut down to devotees on Tuesday night in view of the solar eclipse.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of the famous temple, closed the doors around 8.30 p.m.
The temple will re-open after 10 a.m. on Wednesday. TTD officials said there will be no 'darshan' for almost 13 hours.
As per the Hindu almanac, the solar eclipse will commence at 5.47 a.m. and conclude at 9.08 a.m.
"TTD has cancelled Sahasra Kalasabhishekam in connection with the eclipse on March 9 while other morning sevas will be performed in Ekantam," TTD said in a statement.
It is a usual practice to close down the temple during solar and lunar eclipses.
The first solar eclipse of 2016 will occur on Wednesday. India will witness partial eclipse between 05.38 a.m. and 6.50 a.m.
