Thousands of Hindus rushed to a temple in eastern India after claims by devotees that they had seen the trident of an idol of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, shaking and revolving, temple officials said.
The devotees were offering prayers at the temple, in Patna, capital of Bihar state, in a bid to propitiate the god amid fears that doomsday is imminent, a priest said Friday.
Police confirmed the crush, and said they had their hands full trying to prevent a stampede.
"On Thursday morning a girl offering prayers close to the deity started shouting about the trident shaking", said the temple's head priest, Madhusudan Dwiwedi.
News spread quickly and devotees began jostling to see the "miracle", at the same time offering peace prayers fearing the event was a sign of impending doom, he said.
One devotee later said he had seen the trident shaking, another said the trident was revolving around the deity, while others said they had seen the deity itself shaking.
In Hindu mythology, the shaking by Shiva of his trident means trouble for a large number of faithful.
"The god needs to be propitiated as the trident shaking means he is angry over something", said Gayatri Tiwari, who was Friday seen offering milk to the idol.
Temple officials said devotees had queued up since early Friday morning to offer prayers to Shiva in an attempt to "calm his anger".