Video has emerged from an Indian city showing dozens of male devotees voluntarily getting trampled by stampeding cows and bulls in an attempt of pleasing the Holy Cow for prosperity and good luck.

People in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh in central India, lie down on their chests to mark Ekadashi, an auspicious day after the Hindu festival of Diwali.

Despite knowing the dangers involved, hundreds of men travel all the way to the city to take part in the century-old ritual every year as cattle are let loose to storm through the tiny lanes of the city.

View photos The cow are decorated for the ceremony. Source: Caters More

View photos Getting trampled by a cow could 'reduce problems'. Source: Caters More

“It is believed that if a cow’s feet touches a person, his problems will be reduced,” a district official said.

The cows and bulls are decorated with colours, garlands and henna before the risky ritual.

The ceremony may look brutal for the men on the ground but it’s also considered a key event in the Hindu calendar and according to tribal chief Bhadar Rathod “there has never been a case where a person has been seriously injured or died”.

View photos Cows are considered to be sacred among the Indian community. Source: Caters More

Historian Mukul Kesevan told the BBC that Hindus consider cows to be “a beautiful thing”.

"Its large eyes, its calm, its matte skin tinted in a muted palette that runs from off-white to grey through beige and brown, its painterly silhouette with its signature hump, make it the most evolved of animals," he said.

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