Babiya, known as the divine crocodile, in Ananthapadmanabhaswamy temple, Ananthapuram in Kasaragod died last night, aged about 75 years. She was also known as the vegetarian crocodile.
Legend says that in 1945, a British officer shot at a crocodile in the temple and within a few days another small crocodile appeared in the temple pond. And the temple priest continued to call her Babiya.
She was offered food after morning and afternoon prayers. It is believed that Ananthapadmanabhaswamy is the origin of Shri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.
Saddened to hear that Divine Crocodile Babiya which was guarding Sri Anantapura Lake Temple in #Kasaragod of Kerala is no more.!!
Vegetarian Babiya lived in Temple lake for the last 70+ years by eating the Prasadam of Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy
Om Shanti🙏 pic.twitter.com/nataU6Jlwa
— Girish Bharadwaj (@Girishvhp) October 10, 2022
After devotees would give their offering to the priest, the priest would go towards the lake and give the offering. Babiya would obediently come out of the pond and eat it. Babiya never harmed anyone in the pond. Devotees believed Babiya was guarding the Lord Ananthapadmanabha.
Tributes started pouring in for Babiya from all the devotees.
Babiya attained Vishnu Lokam
Babiya the crocodile which lived in the pond of Kasarkode Anantha Padmanabha temple, which is moola sthanam of Sri Padmanabha swamy temple attained moksham yesterday on 9.10.22. All these years it lived by Nivedhyam offered from temple
Om Shanti 🙏 pic.twitter.com/C8pGjv2N0h
— Anu Satheesh 🇮🇳🚩 (@AnuSatheesh5) October 10, 2022
