Gajarajan Kongad Kuttisankaran ( 1962 — 26 July 2020) was an elephant that lived in Kongad,

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He is one among the few native elephants born in Kerala to have a height of more than 309 cm. Kuttisankaran was born at the Nilambur Forest. After leaving the forest at a very young age, he was offered to the Kongad Thirumandhamkunnu temple in 1969. He has won the titles of Adyan Thampuran, Ibhakula Chakravarti and Gajarajan. Kuttisankaran was one of the most famous elephants in the folklore of Kerala. According to experts from Madangasastram, he was characterized by 18 claws, a protruding trunk, a long tail and beautiful eyes. Kuttisankaran was a regular at festivals including

Thrissur Pooram The Thrissur ''Pooram'' is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Thrissur, Kerala, India. It is held at the Vadakkunnathan (Shiva) Temple in Thrissur every year on the ''Pooram'' (pronounced ) day—the day when the moon rises with the ''P ...

, Nemmara Vela, Puthussery Vedi and Mannarkkad Pooram. Kuttisankaran last participated in the Mannarkkad Pooram after which he went to treatment for age related problems and months later, he died on 26 July 2020.

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1962 animal births 2020 animal deaths Individual elephants Elephants in Indian culture Individual animals in India Elephants in Hinduism Elephants in Kerala {{Afrotheria-stub

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