<p>Guruvayur Padmanabhan, the senior most tusker of Sri Krishna Temple at Guruvayur in Kerala, died on Thursday.</p>.<p>The eighty-four-year old elephant was conferred with the 'Gajaratnam' title and was considered as the king of captive elephants in Kerala. Owing to its striking features like long trunk, well shaped tusks and height, Padmanabhan had a huge fan following. Calmness was another highlight of the tusker, which even used to earn up to Rs. 2.2 lakh for participating in temple festivals.</p>.<p>After the death of Guruvayur Kesavan, the chief tusker of the Guruvayur temple, in 1976, Guruvayur Padmanabhan was considered as the chief tusker of the temple. Padmanabhan carried the golden replica of the main idol of lord Sri Krishna of the Guruvayur temple during the festivals for over 50 years. Hence, the tusker was even respected with devotion by devotees. It was gifted by two devotees to the temple in 1954.</p>.<p>Padmanabhan was unwell for quite some time and was undergoing treatment.There are 47 more elephants with the temple, said Guruvayur Devaswom sources.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, earlier elephant activists had alleged that the tusker was paraded for the Ekadasi festival of the Guruvayur temple in December despite restrictions imposed by the Kerala Forest Department owing to its ill health.</p>
<p>Guruvayur Padmanabhan, the senior most tusker of Sri Krishna Temple at Guruvayur in Kerala, died on Thursday.</p>.<p>The eighty-four-year old elephant was conferred with the 'Gajaratnam' title and was considered as the king of captive elephants in Kerala. Owing to its striking features like long trunk, well shaped tusks and height, Padmanabhan had a huge fan following. Calmness was another highlight of the tusker, which even used to earn up to Rs. 2.2 lakh for participating in temple festivals.</p>.<p>After the death of Guruvayur Kesavan, the chief tusker of the Guruvayur temple, in 1976, Guruvayur Padmanabhan was considered as the chief tusker of the temple. Padmanabhan carried the golden replica of the main idol of lord Sri Krishna of the Guruvayur temple during the festivals for over 50 years. Hence, the tusker was even respected with devotion by devotees. It was gifted by two devotees to the temple in 1954.</p>.<p>Padmanabhan was unwell for quite some time and was undergoing treatment.There are 47 more elephants with the temple, said Guruvayur Devaswom sources.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, earlier elephant activists had alleged that the tusker was paraded for the Ekadasi festival of the Guruvayur temple in December despite restrictions imposed by the Kerala Forest Department owing to its ill health.</p>
