No Tirupati Balaji darshan for 5 days in August

Tirupati: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) will close the Tirupati Balaji temple for five days from August 12 to 16. The devotees will not get darshan of Tirupati Balaji on the eve of Astabandhana Balalaya Mahasamprokshanam- the vedic ritual to be performed once in 12 years.

Bangalore Mirror reports that entry to the shrine will be restricted to a small number of devotees anyway during these dates for a rare vedic ritual, and the temple authorities may use this window to renovate parts of the premises, and stop darshan entirely. The TTD has already cancelled all arjitha sevas between August 12 and 16 in Tirumala temple. The VIP break darshan restricted to only protocol VIPs on August 11 and 12 and no break darshan from August 13 to 16.

In connection with this vedic event, Tirumala JEO Sri KS Sreenivasa Raju has appealed to pilgrims to plan accordingly. Astabandhana Balalayya Mahasamprokshanam is performed once in 12 years as per the tenets of Agama Shastras for the longevity of the presiding deity as well as the other parivara deities, said Agama Advisor Dr NAK Sunderavaradan. Briefing the media on the importance of this ritual, the scholar said, he has been taking part in the special religious fete since 1958. I had the privilege of having performed the Mahasamprokshanam in 2006 under my supervision", he added.