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Crocodile at the Ananthapura Lake Temple in Kasargod in Kerala

Ananthapura Lake Temple in Kasargod in Kerala is the only lake temple in Kerala and it is equally famous for a crocodile in the temple pond. The temple is located in the middle of a pond and the sanctum sanctorum of temple is reachable only by a bridge. The crocodile named ‘Babia’ lives in the pond.


There is only a single crocodile in the lake. Elders in the region state that it is the third crocodile in the temple pond.

When one crocodile dies, another one appears magically in the lake.

There is no river or pond nearby where there is a crocodile population.

How the crocodile came to the pond? From where the new one appears, remains a mystery.

The crocodile survives on the rice provided by the temple. It is harmless to human beings.

Some people are of the view that the crocodile is here to remind people about Gajendra Moksha.


Ananthapura Lake Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is the moolasthanam (original abode) of Ananthapadmanabha, the deity of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

The pond is also home to several species of fishes and water birds.

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