Babiya, the pet Croc at Kasaragod temple passes away !

For sure you know the story of Gajendra moksham, Emperuman saving the elephant from the crutches of a crocodile – perhaps may not have seen this pic – Emperuman holding an elephant and patting crocodile with equal love.  HE takes care of everyone surrendering unto HIM.

Hector P. Valenti is a charismatic magician who wants to try out on a national talent show, but is constantly rejected. One day after a failed audition he wanders into an exotic pet store and finds a singing crocodile and names him Lyle. Seeing Lyle as an opportunity to strike it rich in the talent business, he places his 3-story Victorian brownstone home as collateral for their performance, but Lyle gets stage fright during the premiere and Valenti loses the home. Valenti is forced to move out and reluctantly leaves Lyle to fend for himself while he tries to make more money. .. .. …. 

A Zimbabwean man experienced total ill-luck – he was able to escape from a charging elephant by jumping into a river - only to lose an arm and a leg in a vicious crocodile attack.  Winders Sianene, 34, was travelling last week to a fishing spot near Mlibizi - a village in western Zimbabwe - when he encountered the first of the two beasts. Local reports say the elephant charged at Sianene, who realised his only means of escape from being trampled to death was to leap into to the river. Acting quickly, he jumped into the water and attempted to swim away from the huge animal. But it was then that he met another deadly foe.   

Elsewhere footage posted by media sday shows a handful of horrified onlookers filming the gory scene on the otherwise still waters of Laguna del Carpintero in Tampico Tamaulipas. As the onlooker gasped in Spanish,   the giant croc slowly swims by with the half-naked body that is already missing his left lower arm and foot !!   Crocodile attacks are sort of common !!  

On the way to Mahabalipuram on ECR is the Crocodile Park, established in  1976 with the specific goal of securing breeding populations of the three species of Indian crocodile: the mugger (Crocodylus palustris), the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the rarest of all, the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).  Crocs may not be attractive !  .. .. yet draws lot of visitors. 

 

Crocodiles are large aquatic tetrapods that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia.  Though there could be many biological varieties, broadly there are – the mugger, alligator and gharials. The  obvious trait of crocodiles is their long upper and lower jaws being  the same width, and teeth in the lower jaw fall along the edge or outside the upper jaw when the mouth is closed.  Crocodiles are ambush predators, waiting for fish or land animals to come close, then rushing out to attack. Crocodiles mostly eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, reptiles, mammals and occasionally cannibalize on smaller crocodiles.  They can attack and harm humans too.  What a crocodile eats varies greatly with species, size and age. 

எம்பெருமான் ஸ்ரீமந்நாரணன் - 'ஆனைக்கு அருள் செய்த பெருமாள்; முதலையின் இடர் தீர்த்தவன்"  எம்பெருமானின் திருப்பாதங்களில் புகல் அடைவதே நம்மை கொரோனா போன்ற கொடிய நோய்களில் இருந்து காக்கும்.  நிரந்தரமற்ற துன்பமயமான இவ்வுலகில் சர்வ  நிச்சயமானது மரணம் மட்டுமே !   தர்ம புத்திரனான  யுதிஷ்டிரரிடம், “எது மிகவும் ஆச்சரியத்திற்குரிய விஷயம்?” என்று கேட்ட போது, தினம் தினம் அடுத்தவர் இறப்பதைப் பார்த்தும் தான் சாக மாட்டேன் என்று ஒவ்வொரு மனிதரும் நினைப்பதே மிகவும் ஆச்சரியமான விஷயம் என்று பதிலளித்தார். எம்பெருமானிடத்திலே சரணம் புகுதலே ஒரே உபாயம். மரணம் புகும் சமயத்திலும் ஸ்ரீமன் நாரணன் திருநாமங்களை  உச்சரிக்க வேண்டும்.   

முன்னொரு காலத்தில்  பக்தனான இந்த்ரத்யும்நனென்னும் அரசன் வழக்கப்படி  பூஜை செய்து கொண்டிருந்தபோது அகஸ்த்ய மஹாமுனிவன் அவனிடம் எழுந்தருள,   அவ்வரசன் தன் கருத்து முழுவதையும் திருமாலைப் பூஜிப்பதில் செலுத்தியிருந்ததனால் அம்முனிவனது வருகையை அறியாதவனாய் அவனுக்கு உபசாரமொன்றுஞ் செய்யாதிருக்க, அம்முனிவன் இப்படி அரசன் நம்மை அலக்ஷியஞ் செய்தானென்று மாறாகக் கருதிக் கோபித்து , ‘யானைபோலச் செறுக்குற்றிருந்ததனால் யானையாகக் கடவை’ என்று சபிக்க, அங்ஙனமே அவன் ஒரு காட்டில் யானையாகத் தோன்றினனாயினும் முன்செய்த விஷ்ணுபக்தியின் மஹிமையினால் அப்பொழுதும் விடாமல் நாள்தோறும் ஆயிரந்தாமரை மலர்களைக் கொண்டு திருமாலை அர்ச்சித்துப் பூஜித்துவருகையில், ஒருநாள் பெரியதொரு தாமரைத் தடாதகத்தில் அர்ச்சனைக்காகப் பூப்பறிப்பதற்குப்போய் இறங்கி முதலை வாயில் அகப்பட்டான். 

சாபமும் சாபவிமோசனமும் புராணங்களில் வரும் நிகழ்வுகள். சாபம் என்பது எப்போதுமே பிரக்ஞையின் மேல்நிலையிலிருந்து கீழ்நிலைக்குத் தள்ளப்படுவது.  எம்பெருமானின் கருணையால்   விமோசனம் பெற்றதும்  மீண்டும் சுயநிலையை அடைவது நடக்கிறது. தேவர்கள் மனிதர்களாகப் பிறவியெடுப்பதும், மனிதர்கள் விலங்குகளாகப் பிறப்பதும் தத்தம் நிலையிலிருந்து அவர்கள் கீழே தள்ளப்படுவதைக் காட்டுகிறது. 

In our sampradhayam – Gajendra moksham is a concept of salvation.  Sriman Narayana  appeared on Garuda vahanam and saved the elephant by killing the crocodile with his ‘Chakram’.   It also explains that one who falls under the divine feet of Lord seeking salvation will surely be taken care of. 

Kasaragod is a municipal town and the district headquarters of Kasaragod district of Kerala state.  Situated in the rich biodiversity of Western Ghats, it is known for the Chandragiri and Bekal Forts, Chandragiri River, historic Kolathiri Rajas, natural environment of Ranipuram and Kottancheri Hills, historical and religious sites like the Madiyan Kulom temple, Madhur Temple, Ananthapuram Lake Temple and more. It is located 50 km south of the major port city & a commercial hub Mangalore and 578 km north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. 

Ananthapadmanabhaswamy Temple or Anantha Lake Temple is a beautiful ancient temple  built in the middle of a lake in the little village of Ananthapura, around 6 km from the town of Kumbla in Manjeswaram taluk of Kasaragod District of Kerala.  This is the only lake temple in Kerala and is believed to be the original seat (Moolasthanam) of Ananthapadmanabha Swami (Padmanabhaswamy temple) Thiruvananthapuram.  

The lake in which the Sanctum Sanctorum is built measures about 2 acres (302 feet square). An interesting spot to keep in mind while visiting the temple is a cave to the right corner of the lake. The  deity Anantha Padmanabha chose to go all the way to Thiruvananthapuram through that cave. Hence both the places retain similar names, in spite of being on either end of the region. The current priests are Havyaka Brahmins, however the tantri belongs Shivalli Brahmin community. The temple is unique in its structural aspects for it is erected in the middle of an impressive lake of 302 feet. The lake is gifted with a perennial supply of pure spring water.   The principal deity is Sriman Narayana 

This lake in the temple, shot to fame when it was observed housing a vegetarian crocodile, Babiya.   It is incredible but true that a vegetarian crocodile resided in a cave adjacent to a sacred pond within the temple premises in the  village called Ananthapura in Kerala’s Kasargod district. The mugger is not a surprise visitor at the ancient temple but was the pond’s official resident guarding the temple for the past 75 years. An year of so back, more photos emerged of  Babiya – as the croc is fondly called – stepped out of the pond and entered the temple premises for the first time. Pictures of Babiya in the temple premises were being widely shared on social media platforms. The big and  gentle vegetarian crocodile entered the temple premises, spent some time and went back after the temple’s Chief priest Chandraprakash Nambisan requested it to go back to the temple pond. 

Though none is sure on how it originated in the temple pond, it has been seen and known for 75 years !  there was not a single incident of wild behaviour and the gentle reptile  was even friendly enough to share the pond with the priests who sometimes took  a dip in its holy water.  Even though the temple pond has enough fishes and other aquatic life, Babiya lead a vegetarian diet and consumed the food offered to the deity which consists of cooked rice and jaggery. According to temple officials, Babiya was fed twice a day by the temple priests, at times they even placed the rice balls right in its mouth.

Devotees revered it as guarding the temple. In 1945, a British soldier fired crocodile which lived in the village pond. The soldier died instantly from snakebite and on the very next day Babiya appeared here.  Babiya used to come out on being called by the temple priest partaking the Prasad offered to God. 

Sad news from Kasargod is Babiya is no more !  Over 75 years old, the crocodile passed away last night on Auscipious Day of Sharad Purnima. A regular stream of visitors paid homage to the gentle giant as Babiya was laid to rest .. ..

The introductory para was about - Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, 2022 American live-action/computer-animated musical comedy film directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon from a screenplay by William Davies. It is an adaptation of the children's story of the same name and its prequel The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber. The film stars Shawn Mendes as the titular character.  Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile was theatrically released in the United States on October 7, 2022, by Columbia Pictures via Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received mixed reviews from critics.  

David O. Russell’s star-studded period drama “Amsterdam” collapsed in its box office debut, earning an anemic $6.5 million from 3,005 North American theaters. The movie, which cost $80 million to produce, couldn’t overcome bad reviews and minimal buzz and is shaping up to be one of the biggest misfires of the year.  This weekend’s other newcomer “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” also fell short of expectations, albeit to a lesser degree, with $11.5 million from 4,350 cinemas in its opening weekend. However, Sony’s animated family film, an adaptation of the popular children’s book about an anthropomorphic reptile (who sings!) voiced by Shawn Mendes, won’t be as painful for the studio given its $50 million price tag. 

Sad on the passing of Babiya and paying homage to the crocodile ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
10^th Oct 2022.