Arunachaleswarar temple elephant in Tiruvannamalai named ‘Namasivayam’

Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister Ramesh visited the small arena where the elephant was kept at the temple.

The elephant at the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai has been named ‘Namasivayam’.

Temple officials said that during the tour of the temple, Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna and Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Ramesh visited the small arena where the elephant was kept at the temple.

The ministers named the elephant in the presence of Collector Vandhana Garg and S. Bharanidharan, Joint Commissioner (JC), HR&CE (Tiruvannamalai). Temple officials said the elephant was named ‘Hiralal’ when the animal arrived from its home state of Assam on September 24.

HR&CE officials said that devotees could view the elephant inside the temple premises. Adequate measures have been taken around the resting place of the animal to ensure the safety of the devotees.

Temple officials said the deceased female elephant Rukumani was brought to the temple from Mudumalai Reserve Forest (RF) in 1995 as a seven-year-old jumbo. Since then, the elephant was in the city for 27 years until her death in 2018.

Published – 18 October 2026 17:55 IST