The funeral took place in a village in Hathras district, 200 km (125 miles) southeast of the national capital, New Delhi, where authorities said a large congregation gathered in an open field in response to a call by local religious leaders.
District police spokesman Manish Chikara put the death toll at around 60, but said the number could rise.
Videos on social media showed bodies piling up outside a local hospital.
Ashish Kumar, district administrator of Hathras district, told reporters, “The incident happened because of a large crowd at the time of people trying to get out of the ground.”
An unidentified eyewitness told India Today TV that there was a tight exit: “When we were about to enter the field, chaos started and we didn’t know what to do.”
Major religious festivals in places of worship in India have a high incidence of fatalities.
In 2016, at least 112 people were killed in a huge explosion caused by banned fireworks at a temple celebrating the Hindu New Year.
Another 115 devotees died in 2013 after being attacked on a bridge near a temple in Madhya Pradesh.
About 400,000 people gathered in the area and stampeded when rumors spread that the bridge was about to collapse.
In 2008, a stampede at a hill temple in the northern city of Jodhpur killed around 224 worshipers and injured more than 400.
