Pilgrims visiting the Lord Venkateswara temple near Tirupati will not be allowed to pray at the shrine for six days from August 11 owing to the conduct of a special ritual, a senior temple official said on Saturday.
The six-day 'Astabandhan Balalaya Mahasamprokshanam' ritual is being held after 12 years to fix minor breaches and holes that have developed naturally in the sanctum sanctorum of the ancient shrine on the Tirumala Hills, he told PTI.
The high priests would plug them using a paste made of several herbs that is harder than concrete amid chanting of vedic hymns, the official said.
Chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Putta Sudhakara Yadav, told mediapersons that the devotees would also not be allowed to travel on all routes, including the 10-km-long stairway leading to the shrine.
The restriction would be in effect till the crack of dawn on August 17, he added.
The TTD governs the administration of the hill shrine.
This is the first time that devotees are not being permitted inside the complex during conduct of the ritual, the official said.
Devotees should make alternative arrangements during this period. They would be allowed into the shrine at the crack of dawn on August 17, he added.
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