Fact Check: Viral video showing a lion roaming near a temple is not from Vijayawada Durga temple
Three-day Shakambari Devi festivities at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam concluded on July 22, 2024. The annual festivities attracted huge crowds with serpentine queues witnessed at the shrine and devotees had to wait for hours to have the darshan of goddess Devi Vijaya Druga.
Claim :
Viral Video shows a lion roaming near the famous Durga Malleswara Swamy temple in VijayawadaFact :
The video shows a lion prowling near the Laxminarayan Temple in Rajula, Gujarat
Three-day Shakambari Devi festivities at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam concluded on July 22, 2024. The annual festivities attracted huge crowds with serpentine queues witnessed at the shrine and devotees had to wait for hours to have the darshan of goddess Devi Vijaya Druga.
The goddess was decorated with a variety of fruits and vegetables marking the Shakambara Devi avatar. Coinciding with this, a video of a lion roaming near a temple-like structure is in circulation on social media, especially YouTube claiming that a lion, which is the vahana or vehicle of the Goddess Durga is prowling near the temple in Vijayawada.
Some users shared the video on Instagram.
Some users shared the video with the claim that the lion came to the temple to take the darshan of the goddess.
Fact check:
The claim is Misleading. The lion seen in the viral video was spotted near the Laxminarayan temple in Rajula, Gujarat.
When we searched the extracted keyframes from the video using Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was published on social media by X users in March 2024 stating that the video shows a lioness roaming on the premises of Laxmi Narayan mandir at Kovaya in Rajula, Gujarat.
When searched further, we also found a video report published by TV9 Gujarati. TV9 Gujarati published the video with the title “Lion spotted near Laxminarayan Temple, Rajula | Amreli | Gujarat | TV9Gujarati” on March 9, 2024.
According to Divyabhaskar, Rajula-Jafarabad coastal area has seen an increase in the population of lions. A lioness was seen strolling near the Kovayama Laxminarayan temple. Some lions are also seen strolling on the roads here.
Therefore, the viral video is not from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. It was shot near the Laxminarayan Temple in Rajula Gujarat. The claim is Misleading.
