Fact Check: The 188-year-old man in the viral video is actually 109-year-old Siyaram Baba

A video showing a 188-year-old man being rescued from a cave near Bengaluru went viral a few days ago, with several people questioning the claims about his age. The video of two men helping an elderly person walk was posted by a user on X (formerly Twitter) and received millions of views. However, several reports now suggest that the age statement was incorrect.

The old man captured in the video is Siyaram Baba, a Hindu saint who is reportedly around 109 years old.

Community notes on X noted that the age was inaccurate, prompting the user to apologize for the error. The video's original poster agreed, saying that anything beyond 120 years is “ridiculous.”

In a subsequent post, the user said: “I'm embarrassed for even writing 188. Anything over 120 would have been ridiculous.” Unless he found a lifetime supply of Adrenawhatnotnow.”

According to the reports attached to the post's community notes, Siyaram Baba is currently staying at Bhatyan Ashram in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh.

Satyaagrah reports that Baba is a devout devotee of Lord Hanuman and you may hear him chanting Ram Charitmanas all the time. He was reportedly born in Mumbai, Maharashtra and attended school until class seventh or eighth.

However, after his encounter with a saint, he left his household and traveled to the Himalayas to do penance.

He reportedly spends nearly 21 hours a day reading the scriptures, showing a very strong devotion to religious practices. The man's lifestyle is strictly ascetic and he is known to have stood on one leg for ten years as atonement. He lived a life of simplicity, often wearing only a loincloth.

Despite his advanced age, Siyaram Baba carries out his daily activities independently and does not need glasses for reading or other activities.

There are now different estimates from his followers about his age. Some believe he could have been up to 130 years old, but the believable age they thought he was was around 109 or 110 years old.

The original video now has over 34 million views on the social media platform.