A group of Hindu devotees in western India fulfilled a strange religious vow by dipping their hands in pots of boiling oil.<br /><br />The terrifying test of faith occurred at a temple near Kumta in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India, on October 24.<br /><br />Devotees of the goddess Kamakshi Devi temple lined up to dip their bare hands in boiling oil and fish out ‘vadas,’ a local snack, which were being fried in the oil. The vadas were then offered to the Goddess as an offering.<br /><br />As they performed the ‘miraculous’ feat, many watching the spectacle were said to have slipped into a trance. <br /><br />Devotees of the temple believe that the Goddess will help them solve their problems if they take a vow to dip their hands in boiling oil as a test of faith.<br /><br />This test is performed every year on full moon days in October, as devotees gather for the festival to fulfil their vows.<br /><br />A local government official described the tradition as harmless, saying: “They take out their hands quickly, so no one gets hurt.”
