Varanasi evening Ganga Aarti advanced due to lunar eclipse

Varanasi's daily evening ritual, the famous Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat has been preponed on the account of the lunar eclipse on Tuesday. As per the beliefs, no religious ritual can be performed during an eclipse.

Varanasi: Varanasi's famed tradition of Ganga Aarti, the daily evening ritual at Dashashwamedh Ghat, has been advanced on account of the lunar eclipse on Tuesday.

The timings of the daily ritual for today has been kept as 3:00 PM which is much before the usual time.

As per Hindu beliefs, no religious ritual can be performed and temples remain closed for a specified period of time before, after and during an eclipse. Considering the same, the organisers of Ganga Aarti have decided to perform the ritual in the afternoon instead of the evening.

In India, the partial lunar eclipse will be visible during the intervening night of July 16 and 17. The Moon will enter penumbra on July 17 around 12.12 am, after which the moon will enter umbra at 1.31 am. The maximum of partial lunar eclipse 2019 will be witnessed around 3 am.