TIRUPATI, INDIA, May 5, 2004: The Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala reopened this morning after it was closed last night for the lunar eclipse. According to the age-old temple customs and rituals, on any eclipse, either solar or lunar, the Hindu temples would be closed till the eclipse was over. The temple sources said the lunar eclipse commenced at 12:38 am today and ended at around 4:30 am. After, the temple priests entered the temple and performed sacred special rituals like cleansing the temple by chanting sacred Vedic hymns. After performing these rituals, devotees were allowed into the temple for darshan at around 9:30 am, temple sources said. Tirumala temple had been receiving unprecedented rush since three days and the waiting time for darshan on Sunday and Monday exceeded 78 hours before it was closed last evening at around 7:30 pm on the eve of the eclipse.
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