Babiya, who was possibly the one and only Vegetarian crocodile in the world has died. The crocodile which had been living in a temple pond in Kerala’s Kasargod for more than 7 decades passed away on the 9th of October. The crocodile was the major attraction of the temple as it used to have only rice and jaggery which was the Prasadam(offerings) of the Temple twice a day after pujas.
It's a mystery how the crocodile came to the temple’s pond, but being 75 years old, Babiya departed a legend. Several devotees came to pay homage to their beloved temple crocodile when its body was kept for the public's last respects inside a freezer on the premises of the Sree Ananthapadmanabha Swami temple at Kumbla. It has been said that the crocodile was suffering from age-related illness and that eventually became the reason for its demise.
Babiya was in the pond for more than 70 years and was never known for behaving wildly or for attacking any devotees. In the lockdown in 2020 the crocodile made its way to the steps of the temple's Sanctum Sanctorum. According to reports, before Babiya, there was another crocodile in the pond which was shot by a British soldier in 1945, and just a few days after that, Babiya emerged in the shrine.
After learning of its demise, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje tweeted, “Babiya, the god’s own crocodile of Sri Ananthapura Lake temple has reached Vishnu Padam. The divine crocodile lived in the temple’s lake for over 70 years by eating the rice & jaggery prasadam of Sri Ananthapadmanabha Swamy & guarded the temple.’’
It is never heard that any crocodile is vegetarian but Babiya proved all theories wrong. It was also said by locals that Babiya was the holy protector and was a messenger of God. Babiya lived mostly in the depth of the water of the lake and appeared in front of devotees for a very short time. Whenever it used to come out, it was like a Darshan of God for the devotees and for them, it will surely be missed.
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