Guruvayur Keshavan

Gajarajan Guruvayur Keshavan (1904—2 December 1976)[1][2] is perhaps the most famous and celebrated temple elephant in Kerala, India. Keshavan was donated to the Guruvayur Hindu temple by the royal family of Nilambur on 4 January 1922 .[2] It is a common Hindu custom in Kerala to capture elephants either as calves or young adults from the wild and to donate them to the deity of the temple as an offering. Guruvayur temple currently has 47 elephants.[3]

Guruvayur Keshavan

Guruvayur Keshavan's statue
Species	Elephas maximus (Asian Elephant)
Sex	Male
Born	c. 1904 Kerala
Died	2 December 1976 Guruvayur
Nation from	India
Known for	Thrissur Pooram, other Poorams
Successor	Guruvayur Padmanabhan
Owner	Guruvayur Devaswom
Height	3.20 m (10 ft 6 in)
Named after	Keshavan

Standing over 3.2 meters tall, Keshavan was known for his devout behavior. Keshavan died on 2 December 1976, aged 72, which happened to be Guruvayur Ekadasi, considered a very auspicious day.[1][2] He fasted for the entire day and dropped down facing the direction of the temple with his trunk raised as a mark of prostration. The anniversary of his death is still celebrated in Guruvauyur. Many elephants line up before the statue and the chief elephant garlands it. Keshavan was conferred the unique title "Gajarajan" (Elephant King), by the Guruvayoor Devaswom. After his death, Guruvayur Padmanabhan became the successor of Guruvayur Keshavan.

The Guruvayoor Devaswom erected a life-size statue of Keshavan in its precincts as tribute to the services he rendered to the presiding deity of the temple. Its tusks, along with a majestic portrait of the elephant, can be still seen adorning the entrance to the main temple enclosure. Its life is the subject of the 1977 Malayalam feature film Guruvayur Kesavan, released the year after his death.[4] The film was directed by Bharathan, starring M. G. Soman, Adoor Bhasi, Sankaradi, Bahadoor, Jayabharathi, Vennira Aadai Nirmala (ushakumari), Veeran, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, junior sheela, M S Nambudiri, N Govindankutty, Paravoor Bharathan and Manavalan Joseph zoomed by Ashok Kumar (cinematographer). The story of Guruvayoor Kesavan was later Mr Pradeep Sivasankar as a writer and portrayed in a television serial on Surya TV, (2009—2010), Captain Raju, KPAC Sajeev, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Salu Menon and Kollam Ajith acted. Gajarajan Thechikottukavu Ramachandran was in the lead role as Guruvayur Kesavan.[5]