Ananthapura Lake Temple Crocodile

Ananthapura Lake Temple

Ananthapura Lake Temple built amid the lake is devoted to Lord Vishnu. It situated in the little village of Kasargod, the northern district of God’s own country- Kerala

It is believed to be the original seat of Padmanabhaswamy temple Thiruvananthapuram as per the legend has it is the original site where Ananthapadmanabha settled down.

Ananthapura Lake Temple Crocodile

Another attraction of this temple is the crocodile named Babiya/Babia said to be Ananthapura’s Own Guardian Crocodile who guards the entrance and shrine.

According to legends, the crocodile has been living for about 60 years and only one crocodile is seen at a time. This is not dangerous, a pure vegetarian crocodile and do not even kill the fish in the lake. The priests feed the crocodile after the rituals at noon with gruel of rice and jaggery. The crocodile comes there at that time, after having the food offered and it goes back to the nearby cave.

ananthapura temple crocodile

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The myth about this Cave is that, once Sree Vilvamangalathu Swami, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, was doing penance for his favourite lord, Lord Krishna appeared in the form of a little boy and started irritating him. Being annoyed by the behaviour of the child, the saint pushed Krishna aside. The boy immediately disappeared into a nearby cave and this to which Krishna is said to have disappeared still exists in the temple.

According to folks, in 1945, a British soldier shot dead the crocodile and this soldier died within few days due to a bite from the snake. It is believed that it was a curse of serpent god Anantha. However, later another crocodile appeared in the lake. It is said that, if one crocodile dies, then another one appears in the lake.

Still, one can sight Babia, the god’s own crocodile in the lake only if you’re fortunate!