Srisailam: The temple authorities of Sri Bhramarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy temple at Srisailam on Monday have announced that the doors of the shrine will remain closed from 1:00 p.m. on September 7 until 5:00 a.m. on September 8 in view of the lunar eclipse.

The eclipse is scheduled to begin at 9:56 p.m. on September 7 and conclude at 1:26 a.m. the following day.

In a press release the authorities have stated that owing to this, the temple will suspend all sparsha darshan (touch darshan), along with all arjita sevas, paroksha sevas, and the celestial wedding rituals of the deities.

Devotees will be allowed only alankara darshan (decorated view of the deity) on the day of the eclipse.

The closures will also apply to sub-temples including Sakshi Ganapati, Hathakeswaram-Phaladhara Panchadhara, and Srikhareswaram.

On September 8, temple doors will reopen at 5:00 a.m. following purification rituals and samprokshanam. Morning worship will be performed, and from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., devotees will be allowed to witness alankara darshan. From 2:15 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., devotees holding online tickets for sparsha darshan and virama darshan will be allowed access. Darshan will resume again from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the form of alankara darshan. Thereafter, from 9:00 p.m. onwards, both sparsha darshan and virama darshan will be facilitated for ticket-holding devotees through online booking. Authorities requested devotees to take note of the revised schedule and cooperate with the temple management during the eclipse-related closure.