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ELEPHANT SANCTUARY
The
Devaswom maintains a unique elephant sanctuary, the only one of
its kind in the World. It has 51 elephants now. These jumbos are the
offerings of the devotees to the Lord. A large number of pilgrims
and tourists visit this fascinating spot every day. In this vast
compound, there are road facilities for pilgrims and tourists to go
around.
The present elephant
sanctuary is in Punnathur Kotta about 3 kms north of Guruvayur temple. Punnathur
Kotta is the ancient palace of the Punnathur Rajas, now in the
possession of the Devaswom.
There is also an ancient temple where Lord Siva and Bhagavathy are
worshipped.
It is a 10 acre compound which Devaswom
purchased in 1975, which was under receiver rule of Trichur sub court.
Till that time elephants were kept in this Kovilakam compound
(present Sreevalsam) to the south of the temple.
All the elephants were
shifted to the Punnathur Kotta in a grant procession lead by Gajarajan Kesavan, all the elephants from
the Kovilakam marched to
Punnathur Kotta on 1975 June 25.
Many elephants of
Guruvayur have become the part of history. The sweet
memories of Gajarajan Kesavan - literally the king of all Elephants-
still enthrall the hearts of the elephant lovers worldwide. The mammoth
physique, his intelligence and devotion to the Lord were very
famous.
Famous elephants of Sree
Guruvayurappan
Padmanabhan | Kesavan
| Lakshmi
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