Dozens of worshippers were injured when two elephants charged through crowds at a religious festival in India on Friday night.

Thousands of devotees had gathered at the Tharakkal Hindu temple for the Hindu procession in the city of Thrissur in Kerala, southern India.

But the older bull named Guruvayur Ravikrishnan became agitated and lashed out and another jumbo Puthuppally Arjunan.

The two beasts began tussling before charging through the assembled crowds.

Mahout, Sreekumar, 53, narrowly escaped three attempts by the animal to attack him. He was injured and taken to a private hospital at Koorkenchery.

Officials said dozens of attendees were injured when they tried to flee but fell over with the elephants charging towards them.

Officials said the rampaging elephants were both caught around half a mile from the event. They were subdued and secured.

Officials are now investigating the cause of the incident.

The sub-continent has at least 30,000 wild elephants - more than any other country and approximately 60 per cent of the world's entire Asian elephant population.

Many more elephants are held in captivity in India. They are used for religious events and weddings.