Hindu priests celebrating a major festival in north India performed a strange ritual of allowing they heads to touch an open fire to be 'purified'.

The "agni pariksha" is a ritual performed using fire by the priests celebrating Govardhan Puja, filmed here on January 17, in Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh.

A priest can be seen being lowered head-first into the "Hawan Kund", or fire pot, with his head touching the lit fire. He is then hauled out and stood up, where he seemed briefly dazed before recovering and splashing his face with boiling milk.

Two children are then seen putting their hands inside some boiling milk but seem to suffer no injuries or reaction on their skin due to it.