‘Vegetarian’ temple crocodile Babiya dies in Kasaragod

KASARAGOD: Babiya, the crocodile who was a curious sight at Kumbala Ananthapuram's Anandapadmanabha Swamy temple, has died. The crocodile died Sunday night. Babiya, 75, was a vegetarian. The legend is that the moolasthanam of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram is Kasargod Anandapadmanabha Swamy Temple.

The harmless crocodile was the speciality of the only lake temple in Kerala Ananthapuram Anandapadmanabha Swamy Temple. Every now and then the crocodile comes near the sree kovil. The temple priest had taken the pictures of Babiya inside the premises of the temple and this had gone viral on social media.

Babiya’s food was the rice (nivedyam) served after the poojas in the morning and noon. No one in the temple know how Babiya came to the temple pond and who named it. The crocodile never harms people visiting the temple and other creatures in the pond. In 2019, it was circulated that Babiya was not alive, but the temple authorities had come forward against this.