Mysuru: Today is Upakarma — the day, when those who follow Brahminical tradition, change their sacred threads. It is also the day when the members of the Brahmin community, who follow Yajur Veda, come together to celebrate Yajur Upakarma.The festival is celebrated on Full Moon day (Pournami) in the Hindu month of Shravana.

However, some calendars have mentioned the Upakarma date as Sept. 6 (full moon day on Bhadrapada month in the Hindu calendar) as there is Lunar eclipse on Aug. 7 (today) which has led to the confusion among the community members.

While some say, today’s Lunar eclipse has no relation to Upakarma as the auspicious day would only come once in every year, the others have mentioned that it must be celebrated in the month of September.

The Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple at Vijayanagar conducted mass Upakarma this morning during which community members changed their sacred thread (Yajnopavita) amidst chanting of Vedic hymns.

Temples to remain closed today: Most of the temples in the city will remain closed on account of Lunar eclipse today.  The Lakshmivenkataramana Swamy Temple in Vontikoppal was closed at 1 pm and will open at 7 am tomorrow. There will be no darshana of the deity.

Meanwhile, all temples in Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashram  will also remain closed from 6 pm today till 6 am tomorrow. Those planning to visit the famous Melukote temples might have to change their plans as both Cheluvarayaswamy Temple and Yoganarashima Swamy Temple will remain closed from 6 pm this evening. Not only will these, but almost all temples will remain closed in Mysuru city on account of Lunar eclipse.  

However, special pujas have been organised at Goddess Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hill at 10.15 pm before closing it for the day at 10.30 pm.

The TTD Trust of Sri Venkateshwara Temple atop Tirumala Hills in Andhra Pradesh has announced the closure of the temple from 4.30 pm today. It will be opened only at 2 am tomorrow. The early morning Arjitha Sevas will be performed as usual and the darshan timing would begin at 7 am.  

Temples across Malnad region in Karnataka will also remain closed during the Lunar eclipse. The famous Kukke Subramanya Temple will be closed from 6.30 am today till 7 am tomorrow. While the Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Temple will be closed from 8 pm to 6 am. The Udupi Krishna Mutt will also remain closed in the evening. The temple authorities will also stop the distribution of prasadam at the temple premises. Devotees travelling to these pilgrim centres must change their travel plans to avoid facing problems.

The complete details of Lunar eclipse in Mysuru as per Indian Standard Time:

Eclipse Begins – 10.52 pm; Maximum Phase of the Eclipse – 11.50 pm; Eclipse Ends – 12.50 am. Total duration of the eclipse is 05hrs 1minute.