The Indian temple city of Ujjain has set a new world record by lighting 1,171,078 oil lamps for the Hindu festival of Maha Shivaratri.
The effort by the government of central Madhya Pradesh state late Tuesday was the world's "largest display of oil lamps," the Guinness World Records announced on Twitter.
The previous record was also set in India – more than 900,000 oil lamps were lit in the city of Ayodhya on the eve of Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, last November.
Over 14,000 volunteers lit the lamps along the banks of the Kshipra river and in the city's main Mahakaal temple in honour of Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism, the Hindustan Times daily reported.
The lamps burned for about 10 minutes, during which people prayed, and the event was followed by a display of fireworks, reports said.
Maha Shivaratri sees devotees celebrating by fasting and worshipping Shiva at their homes or in temples.
