For all those not scared of the repercussions of possibly offending celestial beings, there's a phenomenal event to witness today.
For all those not scared of the repercussions of possibly offending celestial beings, there's a phenomenal event to witness today.
Between about 11am and 3:30pm today, there will be a total solar eclipse, and while tradition has it that you should not eat anything or venture out during this period to avoid ill-effects (and at the end of it, need to have a full bath), for all the rationalists, it is only the fear of the UV that can potentially stop them from viewing the longest solar eclipse in a century.
Religion, of course, is clear about several things. Temples in the state are almost all closed today. The biggest one of them all, the Tirumala Venkateswara temple, will stay closed from 6:30am to 3pm. At 3:45pm prayers will start, and darsanam will restart at 6pm. There will be Srivari Parveta Utsavalu today. The Sri Kalahastisawara temple (the temple of Lord Shiva) at Tirumala will, however, stay open today, and prayers will be offered to Lord Shiva.
All other major temples in the state will stay closed for the major part of the day, too. The Kanakadurga temple at Vijayawada will stay closed from 4am to 5pm, and will reopen after cleaning it, bathing the deity and an abhishekam. The Srisailam temple will stay closed till 6pm.
The Yadagirigutta temple of Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy will stay closed from 6am today. The Saraswati temple at Basar in Adilabad district will stay closed will 4:30pm, the Dwaraka Tirumala temple in West Godavari district till 7pm, and the Mahanandi temple in Kurnool from 5am to 5pm. The Vemulawada Rajarajeswari temple and the Arasavilli Sri Suryanarayanaswamy temple will stay closed, too.
Since the solar eclipse is happening on the same day as Mauni Amavasya and the commencement of the Magh month, astrologers say that any negative (astrological) effects of the eclipse will be limited if not totally neutralized.
People with chronic illnesses are advised to stay home to avoid the ill effects of the ultra-violet (UV) rays, and pregnant women are advised not to look at the eclipse directly.