Babia: The satvik crocodile guard of Anantapura lake temple

Ever heard  or met  the deific crocodile, Babia, which stands as an odd one out from the other members of his  clan by being harmless, a pure vegetarian and by also acting as a guardian of the Anantapura lake temple in Kasaragod district. of Kerala. If not, its  time to meet this grandpa crocodile, Babia (according to the temple priest, he is more than 75 years old) and raise your eyebrows in wonder.

         The Anantapura lake temple is situated in the middle of a two acre rectangular lake (kalyani) in a small serene village, Anantapura, which is 6 kms from Kumbla in Kasargod dt. It is assumed to be the adisthala of lord Ananthapadmanabha, the diety of Padmanabha swamy temple, Thiruvananthapuram. Babia is the guardian of this temple and is a pure vegetarian as it completely relies on the temple nivedya or prasadam made of rice and molasses. My respect and admiration towards Babia became threefold when I heard that he did not till now has harmed anyone, even the fishes in the pond. When one crocodile dies, another one crops up, but none has unveiled the mystery as of how and the present crocodile, Babia is said to be the third one after the temple has been built. As any ancient worship place has a myth or a folk tale revolving around it, this temple and the unique Babia too has a story associated with it.

As one legend says, Sage Vilwamangalam, a Vishnu devotee was doing poojas at the place where the temple is situated. One day Lord Vishnu appeared in front of him disguised as an orphan boy. The sage felt pity and asked the boy to stay with him. The boy agreed to stay on the condition that he would leave if he were ever humiliated, to which the sage agreed. Being a naughty boy, he disturbed his pooja by his intolerable pranks. The sage became furious to which the little  naughty one left him telling  that he can be seen when he goes to the forest (Ananthakat) of serpent god, Anantha. The maharshi soon realizing the boy to be the incarnation of lord followed him and found a cave where the boy had vanished. It is also believed that the crevice in the cave where Lord Krishna disappeared is being guarded by Babia. It is said that in 1945, when India was under the Britishers, one English soldier shot a crocodile of the temple lake and within few days, the soldier died of snake bite as a revenge taken by the serpent god.

This beautifully crafted Kerala style temple situated amidst the sprawling grassland and enveloped by small hillocks stands as an example of the harmonious blend between nature and man by the presence of the well behaved superstar, Babia. If you are a person who loves travelling and likes to explore some exceptionally different places, this temple and Babia should be added to the itinerary.

Getting there: If you are driving from Banglaore, Anantapura lake temple is around 385 kms.

By road:

Bangalore to Kasargod (364 km)
Kasargod-Kumbla (13 km)
Kumbla-anantapura temple (6 km)

By rail:

Nearest Railway station: Kasargod railway station (14 km)

By air:

Nearest airport: Mangalore airport (56km)