Temples are havens for peace and piety but worshippers at a temple in Gujarat received the shock of their lives Sunday, June 23.
The Khodiyar Mata temple in the western Indian state’s Mahisagar district welcomed a terrifying visitor that scared the daylights out of all the devotees offering their prayers.
A 6-foot long crocodile was found next to the idol, causing panic and confusion. While some villagers called for the immediate expulsion of the beast from the temple premises, some deemed it as a ‘miracle’.
The villagers’ belief is understandable because Khodiyar Mata, one of the chief deities of the Patel community in the state is depicted as riding a crocodile.
Rescue operations were delayed because many devotees lined up to pray to the crocodile.
“When our personnel reached there to rescue the crocodile, people opposed it. We waited for two hours as we did not want to hurt religious sentiments. However, later, we managed to get the reptile to a nearby pond,” said Mahisagar deputy conservator of forests RM Parmar.
Locals of the Lunwada tehsil even conducted ‘aarti’ and showered the crocodile with vermillion as it languished next to the goddess’ idol.
Video of the bizarre incident was shared online where it has gone viral.
Watch:
PNN