Lunar Eclipse 2025: Kashi Vishwanath Temple to Close Early on September 7 Due to Sutak Period;

A significant celestial event is set to occur on September 7, 2025, as a total lunar eclipse (Chandra Grahan) will be visible from India. The eclipse is expected to last for three and a half hours, with its visible phase in Kashi (Varanasi) starting at 9:57 PM and ending at 11:41 PM. The moksha or liberation phase will conclude around 1:27 AM. Due to the eclipse, the Sutak period—a time traditionally considered inauspicious—will begin nine hours earlier, during which religious rituals and temple visits are generally avoided. As per tradition, the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple will close its doors 2 hours and 27 minutes before the start of the eclipse. All regular Aartis (ritual prayers) at the temple will be performed ahead of schedule on that day: Evening Aarti: 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Shringar Bhog Aarti: 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Shayan Aarti: 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM After the Shayan Aarti, the temple doors will remain closed until the eclipse ends and the temple is ritually purified. What makes this eclipse even more remarkable is that it's part of a rare astronomical alignment—for the first time in over 100 years, both a lunar and a solar eclipse are falling within the sacred fortnight of Pitru Paksha, a period dedicated to honoring ancestors. However, only the lunar eclipse will be visible in India; the solar eclipse will not. While it's believed that divine energies, like that of Lord Vishwanath, are not affected by the Sutak period, it is still observed out of respect for tradition and the spiritual well-being of devotees. According to temple customs, the doors are always closed a couple of hours before any eclipse begins, whether lunar or solar.

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