Kedarnath, Badrinath, Several Other Temples Shut Today Due To Solar Eclipse

The Kedarnath and Badrinath temples in Uttarakhand have been closed today due to a solar eclipse or ‘suryagrahan’.
The temples will open to the devotees after a Puja in the evening, said the shrine committee.

In Andhra Pradesh’s Tirumala, the Lord Venkateswara temple has also been shut for about 12 hours today – from 8 am to 7.30 pm.

Devotees will be allowed inside the temple 8 pm onwards, the temple officials said, adding that the ‘anna prasad’ distribution has been cancelled for the day.

The temple will be closed on November 8 too in view of a lunar eclipse or ‘Chandragrahan’, they added.

Many famous temples in Telangana, including Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple and Sri Gnana Saraswathi Devi temple, also remain closed.

Several temples are closed in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj too where thousands of devotees took a dip in the Triveni Sangam – the confluence of the river Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.

Today’s partial solar eclipse will be visible from most parts of the country just before the sunset.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, obstructing the sun’s light from reaching the earth.