Arunachaleswarar temple elephant in Tiruvannamalai named ‘Namasivayam’

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 in the temple. The elephant at Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai town was named ‘Namasivayam’.Temple officials said that during the inspection 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 in the temple.Ministers named the elephant in the presence of Collector Vandhana Garg and S. Bharanidharan, Joint Commissioner (JC), HR&CE (Tiruvannamalai). Temple officials said that when the animal arrived from his home State Assam on September 24, the elephant was called ‘Hiralal’.HR&CE officials said that the devotees were allowed to view the elephant in the temple premises. Adequate measures have been taken around the resting area of the animal to ensure safety of devotees.Temple officials said that 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 town for 27 years till her death in 2018. Published - October 18, 2026 05:55 pm IST