Karni Mata Temple Bikaner

Vital Information for Visitors

Address:

Karni Mata Temple, Deshnoke, Bikaner, Rajasthan

Open & Close:

Open on all days
05:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Entry Fee:

NIL

Duration:

30 Min

Dedicated To :

Goddess Karni Mata

Significance:

Thousands of rats

Karni Mata Temple, also popularly known as Rat Temple, is one of the exotic tourist attractions in Bikaner . There is probably no other temple in the world which has thousands of rats moving in the shrine without any fear. But the temple of Karni Mata situated in village Deshnoke, about 35 km from Bikaner is an example of this miracle. Nevertheless, no one has ever heard an epidemic of plague erupting due to enormous number of rats in this temple. The temple was built by the rulers of Bikaner state with the blessings of their “Kuldevi” — Karni Mata who herself was not a worshipper of Ganesh. But still the transport of Ganpati was greatly regarded and no devotee could touch any of the rats during his worship in the temple. This famous temple attracts large crowds not only from Rajasthan but also from Gujarat, Kathiawar and all across the globe.

Legend regarding Karni Mata Temple is very interesting. Historical facts of the temple relate that Karni was incarnated as “Devi” during her life-time. Karni, according to the prevalent legend, was the sixth daughter of a Charan named Meha. The Charans sing elegies and genealogies of the kings. All the daughters of Meha are worshipped out of religious deference, while Karni attracts the upper class, the other sisters namely, Lai Bai and Phool Bai are revered by the scheduled caste people. At the age of 27, Karni was married to one Deepa of Marwar, but the marriage was dissolved soon, and since then Kami adorned the clothes of a ‘sanyasin’ and devoted her life to the uplift and service of the poor. According to a legend, Karni breathed her last in an unusual way. She evaporated in a flash of fire. Since then she has been regarded as an incarnation of ‘Shakti’. The rats numbering about twenty thousand, spread in the premises of temple, are of special variety, called as ‘kabas’. They never mix up with other rats outside the temple precincts. In 1927 A.D. when plague was raging everywhere in the State, there was not a single case of the disease inside the temple. The worship in the temple is of ‘Shakti’ and not of Kaba, the vahan (vehicle) of the Goddess.

Karni Mata Temple, also called the temple of Deshnoke, was constructed with white marble in simple architectural style. The inner gates are of gold. Funds for the temple are provided by presents of the rulers of Bikaner and by the offerings of the devotees. The ‘puja’ (worship) ceremonies are performed by the Charan Brahmins of the Karni’s clan. The main attraction of the temple is the congregation and movements of the rats. There is a regular budget to feed these rats with milk and sweets. Sufficient staff is employed to avoid depredations by cats and other animals. To protect them from the enemy, copper nets in the premises are also laid. Visitors are warned to be careful while moving in the temple. A rat of gold has to be presented to the temple in return for a rat killed by any person.