Babiya made headlines as worshippers said it was a vegetarian crocodile, and it eventually achieved divine status after it was observed digesting temple offerings (rice and jaggery).
Digital Desk: On Monday, authorities from the Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy temple paid their respects to a'vegetarian' 75-year-old crocodile named 'Babia,' whom they thought to be 'divine.'
The crocodile that lived in the lake near the temple used to roam the temple grounds, which was unusual, but temple officials maintained he was "harmless." The body was discovered floating in the lake at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The crocodile was one of the temple's biggest attractions, and visitors came from all over the country to see it. The crocodile was thought to have 'divine' ties and its job was to defend the god at the shrine. According to reports, temple authorities would feed Babia rice and jaggery balls as 'prasadam.'
"We had the ceremonies and prayers associated with a Hindu swamiji's burial." The body was carried to a pit beside the shrine. Devotees will be able to pray at the samadhi in the future," said temple trust board chairman Udaya Kumar.
Previously, Babiya made headlines as worshippers said it was a vegetarian crocodile and eventually acquired celestial status after it was seen eating temple offerings (rice and jaggery).
"We don't claim the crocodile was completely vegetarian. However, it used to consume the temple's offerings," Udaya Kumar explained.
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shoba Karandlaje tweeted her condolences: "Babiya, the God's own crocodile of Sri Ananthapura Lake shrine, has reached Vishnu Padam." The heavenly crocodile defended the temple for over 70 years by devouring the rice and jaggery prasadam of Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy."
The crocodile was never known to be violent or to have attacked a devotee. It shared the temple pond with fish. It was discovered two years ago on the steps of the temple's sanctum sanctorum.
There are no records at the temple to show how this crocodile got to the temple pond, even though there is no river or other body of water nearby. According to temple folklore, a British soldier shot a crocodile at the shrine in 1945, and another one arrived a few days later. As a result, Babiya was thought to be in its 70s.
Nobody knows when or why the male crocodile was given the name Babiya, according to the chairman of the temple trust board.
Another explanation for the crocodile's existence is that the centuries-old temple, which is located in a pond, had a large stock of treasures.
The temple administrators had raised a crocodile in the pond to prevent theft and adversaries from looting the wealth. Previously, one could only get to the shrine by crossing the pond. Later, a bridge was built across the pond to the temple.
Leave A Comment