Kasaragod. The ‘Divine Crocodile’ that guarded the temple for 70 years was given ‘Bhu Samadhi’ after eating an offering of rice and jaggery from Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Kerala. This goddess crocodile died in the temple pond on Sunday night. According to a report published in the Indian Express, the reason for his death is considered to be his old age. All this has been revealed in his post-mortem report. Such a feeling is rarely seen in any creature.

The crocodile is said to have been part of the teachings of the Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple at Kambala in Kasaragod district. Babiya was therefore conceived as the funeral of a Hindu ‘sanyasi’ and a ceremonial funeral was performed with all his prayers. Not only this, before his last rites (burial) the deceased was kept in a mobile freezer for several hours so that devotees could pay homage to this ‘divine soul’.

Uday Kumar, chairman of the temple trust board, says that we had rituals and prayers related to the cremation of Hindu Swamiji. He said that the body was lowered into a pit near the temple. He also emphasized that Babiya is a divine spirit. In future devotees can come and pray at his samadhi.

The president of the temple trust says that Babiya hit the headlines when it was discovered that she is a vegetarian crocodile. Devotees claimed that the crocodile is a vegetarian. Because of this he only eats temple prasad (rice and jaggery). Since then, the crocodile has received divine status. But it cannot be claimed that the crocodile was a complete vegetarian. However, he only ate temple offerings.

Babia hit the headlines when she discovered that she is a vegetarian crocodile. (Photo Twitter – Shobha Karandlaje)

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shobha Karandlaje has expressed condolence over Babiya’s death. He tweeted, ‘The Lord of Sri Ananthapura Lake Temple has his own crocodile Babiya Vishnu Padam. The goddess crocodile lived in the temple lake for more than 70 years by eating Sri Ananta Padmanabha Swamy’s offerings of rice and jaggery and guarding the temple.

The president of the trust says that it is not known if the crocodile ever became violent or attacked any devotee. The good thing is that the child lived with the fishes in the temple pond. However, about two years ago, he was spotted on the steps of a very sacred place in the temple.

The child lived with the fishes in the temple pond.

Not only this, there are no temple records to show how the crocodile reached the temple pond when there was no river or any other water body nearby. The temple lord says that in 1945, a British soldier shot a crocodile at the shrine and within days another appeared. That’s why Babiya was considered to be from the 70s.

Uday, the chairman of the temple trust board, has also said a great deal about Babiya’s name. They say that no one knows when and why the male crocodile was named.

Hindi News 18 Be the first to read breaking news in Hindi. Today’s Latest News, Live News Updates, Most Trusted Hindi News Website News18 Hindi| Read on

Tags: crocodile, Kerala News