THRISSUR: Valiya Kesavan, the main elephant of Guruvayur temple died here today. He was 51 years old. He was undergoing treatment for health issues. The tusker had the right to hold the idol of Sree Krishna.

When Guruvayur Padmanabhan died on February 26 in 2020 due old age diseases, Valiya Kesavan became the chief of the elephants of Guruvayur. He had undergone treatment for tumour and TB. The elephant died at 12.20 noon after undergoing treatment for two years.

Valiya Kesavan was offered to the temple by Vasudevan Namboodiri, a native of Guruvayur. His name was Ayyappan Kutty then. Valiya Kesavan was the tallest of the elephants offered to the temple. He was more than 10 feet.