Earlier on Monday, ‘Babiya’ the “vegetarian crocodile” who was known for eating temple prasad in Kerala, was accorded bhu samadhi after its death. Babiya, the vegetarian crocodile had been living in a temple pond in Kasaragod district, Kerala, for over seventy years. On Sunday night, Babiya took its final breathe.

For the last seven decades, Babiya had been a major attraction for devotees who remained enamored by the fact that the otherwise carnivorous reptile was a rare ‘vegeterian’. Till the reptile lived in the pond, it ate rice and jaggery prasadam at the temple. The crocodile was offered the temple offerings twice a day after a puja.

Owing to its popularity, the crocodile’s passing received wide-spread attention. After the news of the crocodile’s passing away broke, hundreds of devotees rushed to the temple to pay their respects and tributes. Babiya’s body was put in a mobile refrigerator on the premises of Kumlbla’s Sree Ananthapadmanabha Swamy Temple.

The crocodile also received a ceremonial burial, ‘bhu samadhi’ as it had been part of the temple’s lore for decades. The ceremony was similar to any other burial where a Hindu ‘sanyasi’ is buried.

An Indian Express report quoted temple trust chairman saying, “We had the rituals and prayers associated with the burial of a Hindu swamiji. The body was lowered to the pit near the temple.”

Contents hide
1. The Facts of the Matter
2. The Legend of Babiya, A ‘Vegetarian’ Croc
3. Babiya Given ‘Bhu Samadhi’
4. Devotees Pay Respects to Babiya
5. Lore on How Babiya Appeared in Temple Pond

The Facts of the Matter

Crocodiles are known for being vicious carnivores. The internet has no dearth of hair-raising footages of crocodiles hunting down the toughest and largest of animals and preying on them after the successful hunt.

However, a temple in Kerala was an abode to ‘Babiya’, a crocodile popularly known as being a “vegetarian”. While many dispute the claims, it is widely known that Babiya used to eat rice and jaggery offerings by devotees from all across the world. Earlier on Sunday, Babiya, who was over seventy years old, passed away due to age-related illness.

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The Legend of Babiya, A ‘Vegetarian’ Croc

Following his death, Babiya received a rare ‘bhu samadhi’, which is reserved only for Hindu sanyasis. Udaya Kumar, the Sree Ananthapadmanabha Swamy Temple’s trust chief, told media that Babiya used to get ‘prasadam’ twice every day after pujas were done.

“We don’t claim that the crocodile was fully vegetarian. However, it used to consume the offerings of the temple,’’ Mr. Udaya said.

While Babiya was a legend among devotees, and part of the temple’s lore, its name and story was immortalized after it received ‘bhu samadhi’.

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Babiya Given ‘Bhu Samadhi’

“We had the rituals and prayers associated with the burial of a Hindu swamiji. The body was lowered to the pit near the temple. In future, devotees can come and pray at the ‘samadhi’,’’ Mr. Udaya Kumar, the temple board chief said.

Devotees Pay Respects to Babiya

Reportedly, Babiya’s body was kept in a mobile refrigerator on the premises of the temple. Hundreds of devotees had come to the temple to pay their respects to the ‘vegetarian crocodile’.

Babiya was known to have never attacked devotees and had in the past made buzz for making to the steps of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum.

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Lore on How Babiya Appeared in Temple Pond

Like many folklore stories, there are no evidences and records to show how Babiya turned up at the temple pond. There are no rivers or tributaries in the vicinity of the temple, which always raised questions as to how Babiya appeared one day at the pond.

However, as per the lore, a British soldier had shot a crocodile in 1945, and within a few days, another one had appeared to take the hunted crocodile’s place.

 

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