Indiraja

Indi Raja (c. 1980: ඉන්දි රාජා), also known as Indiraja, is an Indian elephant. Indiraja is a main casket bearer of the Kandy Esala Perahera, an annual religious procession held to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in which he carried the main casket many times. He is also the leading tusker of the elephant troop at the Temple of the Tooth.

History
The tusker was born around 1980 in India and was gifted to the Temple of the Tooth by Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi to then-President JR Jayawardena at a solemn ceremony in July 1987. Indi Raja was only 6 years when he was gifted to Sri Lanka. In his younger days, Indiraja was docile though playful. He is the second most senior elephant in Dalada Maligawa troop, after Janaraja.

Perahera procession
When there were no tusked elephants to carry the main casket in 2009, the tusker got the opportunity to carry the main casket for 10 days of the Perahera. Since then Indiraja carried the casket of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the Esala Perahera for more than 20 years. In 2014, Indiraja was attacked by another elephant on a side at the corner of Kotugodella Street. However, he walked to the Temple of the Tooth carrying the casket without becoming aggressive. In August 2019, the tusker fell ill during the first kumbal Esala perahera.

Rampage
In 2004, Indiraja suddenly attacked a mahout, Vijaya. The incident occurred at Vilbawa in the Kurunegala district on the banks of a tank where the elephants had been relaxing before the Perahera of Vilbawe Paththini Devala. The mahout was rushed to the Kurunegala Hospital in critical condition. Later, he was transferred to the Kandy Hospital but died two days without regaining consciousness. After the incident, Indiraja was kept in chains with another Maligawa tusker, Sinharaja. At that time, he broke the chains and charged at Sinharaja and pierced Sinharaja's mouth. Indiraja was sedated for a few days.