Babiya of Kerala temple fame passes away: Why hundreds attended funeral of 75-year-old ‘vegetarian’ crocodile

The devotees of the Sree Ananthapadmanabha Swamy Temple in Kerala gathered in large numbers to mourn after the news broke that a 75-year-old crocodile which lived in the pond around the temple had passed away on Sunday night.

Final rituals of Crocodile #Babiya at Sri Anantapura Temple in #Kasaragod which left for heavenly abode yesterday. Devotees turn up in huge numbers to pay last respects to Babiya.

For over seven decades at Ananthapura Lake Temple, Babiya was the focus of devotees & tourists. pic.twitter.com/876zGnaTHr

— Adv K Shreekanth (@AdvkShreekanth) October 10, 2022

According to a Manorama report, the crocodile was not keeping well for the past few days. Udayakumar R Gatty, trustee of the temple said, “In the past two days, Babiya did not come up for food. We launched a search but could not find it. Sunday night, we saw it dead in the lake.”

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje tweeted about the demise of the crocodile, saying Babiya had reached ‘Vishnu Padam.’

Interestingly, this 75-year-old crocodile, named Babiya, was on a vegetarian diet and only ate the temple prasad offered to him by devotees.

As devotees in Kerala mourn the loss of their vegetarian crocodile, here’s all you need to know about Babiya and how he became loved by the temple.

Temple’s veg-friendly crocodile

Babiya, believed to be 75-years-old, resided in the pond situated around the Sree Ananthapadmanabha Swamy temple in Kerala’s Kasaragod.

According to the temple priests, the divine crocodile spent most of his time inside the cave and came out in the afternoons. According to the beliefs of the localities, he guarded the cave into which Lord Padmanabhan disappeared.

For several years, images of Babiya inside the temple premises were widely circulated and he was considered to be friendly, never having turned violent or attacked devotees.

In fact, two years ago, Babiya made its way to the steps of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum.

According to temple authorities, Babiya ate only the temple prasad which was offered every day after the noon worship of the deity. The vegetarian prasad comprised of cooked rice and jaggery, and was fed to the friendly crocodile by the devotees fearlessly, by their hands.

A Hindu report states that Babiya was unlike any other crocodile and didn’t even harm the other fish and organism in the pond, which is situated around the temple.

Babiya’s temple connection

There are no records as to how Babiya reached the pond or became the ‘guardian’ of the temple. However, the temple’s chief priest Subrahmanya Bhat P S, according to a Manorama report, said that Babiya found its way to the temple sometime in the 1940s.

According to temple lore, in 1945, a British soldier shot a crocodile in the temple. Surprisingly, the soldier died of snakebite sometime later. Soon after, Babiya appeared in the lake and it is now said that each time the ‘guardian’ dies, another one will appear in its place.

Some other locals believe that people working at a circus may have left hatchlings years ago and Babiya was one of those that survived.

Twitter bids adieu to Babiya

Soon after Babiya’s demise, netizens mourned the loss of their ‘harmless’ protector.

Another netizen wrote, “Saddened to hear that Divine Crocodile Babiya which was guarding Sri Anantapura Lake Temple in #Kasaragod of Kerala is no more!!”

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 Hari Ananthapadmanabha Swamy

Om Shanti🙏 pic.twitter.com/SCNgJbFKvB

— बैरिस्टर चढ्ढा (घटस्फोट विशेषज्ञ )...😎📚 (Parody) (@rana_indrjeet) October 10, 2022

With inputs from agencies

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