Meet Devi Dasan,
From cruelty to compassion: mechanical elephants make progress in replacing abused temple elephants
We’re thrilled to report that the mechanical elephant for which we fundraised last year was launched to much fanfare and ceremony at its new temple home in Kerala on 7 March 2025.
The mechanical elephant Devi Dasan, funded by Action for Elephants UK, is welcomed to his temple home in Kerala. Photo: PETA India
Devi Dasan was presented to Thiruvananthapuram’s Sree Balabhadrakali temple by actor Parvati Nair. Photo: PETA India
The elephant, named Devi Dasan, is part of a pioneering initiative by PETA India to change the lives of India’s temple elephants by offering a practical and cruelty-free alternative to the brutal treatment of live elephants. Every temple that’s gifted a mechanical elephant pledges never again to use live ones, and to release any live ones it has. Temple by temple, the trend is spreading, and many more mechanical elephants will be produced and given to temples this year.
Life-size and incredibly lifelike, these elephants can flap their ears, move their eyes, lift their trunks and even spray water from them, and perform all of the traditional temple ceremonies without any risk to human life or property – a win-win solution for the temples and for humane change for the elephants.
Watch the celebrations welcoming Devi Dasan to the temple!
The launch ceremony was reported widely in the Indian press. These are some of the articles in English:
Devi Dasan is a symbol of how devotion and compassion can coexist
Times of India
PETA, actor Parvati Nair gift mechanical elephant to Kerala temple
Deccan Herald
Kerala: This Temple Elephant Is Not Real But Robo Version Of The Tusker; Video Viral
Free Press Journal
Kerala temples switch to lifelike robotic elephants from real ones
The Federal
PETA actor Parvati Nair gift mechanical elephant to Kerala temple
The Week
Parvati Nair, PETA gift mechanical elephant to temple in Kerala
Madhyamam
Parvati Nair Donates Mechanical Elephant to Thiruvananthapuram Temple
Business News This Week
Background
Mahout beating temple elephant.
Elephants have been used for centuries by temples in India as part of traditional ceremonies, but although they’re meant to be revered in Hinduism they are treated with horrific cruelty and lifelong abuse. Usually captured from the wild, they are first tortured into submission, then kept in camps in hellish conditions, forced to endure profound emotional and physical anguish. They are kept in chains and repeatedly beaten and tortured to keep them compliant.
Many exhibit neurotic behaviour and are plagued by chronic foot problems and osteoarthritis from the endless hours spent chained on hard surfaces, as well as many other painful ailments and disfigurements. These tormented animals are treated like equipment, rented out and transported in the back of trucks on gruelling journeys during which they’re unable to lie down. Then, they’re thrust into noisy, chaotic festivals and ceremonies, where they’re forced to carry humans on their weary backs, sometimes despite injuries, lameness, or blindness – ailments common to many of these elephants.
Because the ordeal of captivity causes extreme frustration and stress, elephants sometimes lash out in an attempt to break free, causing chaos and sometimes fatalities. These episodes are becoming more common: from 2007 to July 2024, 540 people were killed in Kerala due to elephants running amok at temple processions, and in the past two years alone, 742 people have been injured in similar incidents (Heritage Animal Task Force data).
Tortured elephants running amok at temple festival
At last, a gamechanger!
In 2023, a real gamechanger appeared on the scene: the first mechanical elephant, launched by PETA India. Designed to perform the ceremonial roles assigned to live elephants, it is incredibly lifelike – it can shake its head, flap its ears, move its eyes, and even spray water from its trunk, providing an authentic experience for devotees while promoting empathy and compassion.
Most importantly, when a temple receives a robotic elephant it pledges to never again hire live elephants. If the temple owns an elephant, it will be retired to a sanctuary or sent for specialised veterinary treatment. In this way, temple by temple, attitudes are changing and incremental progress is being made towards a more humane future for these abused elephants.
The first mechanical elephant, named Irinjadapilly Raman, was launched at Irinjadappilly Sri Krishna Temple in Thrissur district in Feb 2023 – the first step on the road to real change
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Help Spare Elephants Cruel Performances