Karni Mata Temple of Deshnoke, is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at the town of Deshnoke, 30 km south of Bikaner, Rajasthan. The temple is an important pilgrimage site for devotees of Charani sagatis; after access to Hinglaj Mata temple in Baluchitan, was restricted after partition of India and creation of Pakistan. The temple is also a popular tourist destination, and is known as the “Temple of Rats” due to the presence of reportedly close to 20000 mice. They are known as kābā, they are considered holy and treated with utmost care by the devotees. The mice don’t cause any harm to visitors, and no such case has ever been reported.
Although there are many temples dedicated to Karni Mata across Rajasthan, the temple in Deshnoke is the mostly widely recognized. As such while pilgrims throng the temple for blessings, tourists from around the world; come to see phenomenon where people feed the mice and mice feasting on milk. A small temple was originally built around 1470 CE, after the death of Karni Mata, a revered woman saint; but it has grown in size through the centuries. Legend goes Karni Mata was an embodiment of Shakti and remained celibate all her life3, therefore she married her younger sister to her husband, Depaji with whom Depaji had four sons, the youngest being Lakshman. Karni Mata herself used to care for all of them as her own children.
One day, Lakshman drowned in a nearby lake while bathing. When her younger sister pleaded with Karni Mata to bring Lakshman back to life; she lifted his body and brought it to where the inner sanctum is now, and closed the doors. it is said she requested Yamraj, the god of death to bring Lakshman back to life. Karni Mata made a deal and chose the form of kābā, as per which when her human lineage dies, they all will be reborn as kābā and live near her in the temple, and when their kābā form dies, they will be again reborn as humans. Since then, the number of mice inside the temple has grown.
Today an estimated 20,000 mice or kābā reside in the temple complex; who are taken care of by the temple staff and workers. The kābā move throughout the temple complex, including within the main temple, kitchen and iron pots, various side rooms, and even on the rooftops without hurting anyone. Everywhere, the temple makes different food items available for the kābā; including those offered to Karni Mata idol; such as laddu, sugar crystals, milk, grains, fruits, nuts, coconut, vegetables, and even liquor. For the kābā that live on the rooftop and near the iron pots, they are fed grains, fruits, vegetables. They are also protected from predators like cats, etc. As the mice or kābā have become too habituated to human interaction for several hundreds of years through their generations; they even eat out of the hands of pilgrims and visitors and even from the same plate the temple workers in the kitchen eat from.
It is considered a “high honour”; eating food that has been nibbled on by the kābā. All this makes the rats/mice very sacred in the temple. as such temple rules states that, if any visitor or pilgrim accidentally step on kaba and kills it, they must replace it with a rat that is made out of solid silver or gold. Out of all of the rats roaming around in the temple, there are a few white kābā. These particular kaba are considered very holy; as they are considered as the animal reincarnations of Karni Mata herself and her four sons. It is considered very auspicious and lucky to sight even one of them. As such, pilgrims and visitors make extra effort to find and feed them.
The temple workers conduct various rituals Besides the temple complex, the trust that runs the temple also governs several gaushalas, besides enforcing ban on cutting of trees in Deshnoke. The temple workers are group of people called Depavats, of whom there are more than 500 families altogether, and Baridari or head priest is chosen from them, who are considered descendants of Karni Mata. He is the only one who can enter the innermost sanctum where Karni Mata’s murti is located. Replaced every moth, during the month-long role as baradari; the priest lives day and night in the temple with the kābā; and can’t leave the temple complex.
The current temple completely made of marble, as it stands was built in the early 20th century by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. He built the temple on a Mughal architecture style similar to the Taj Mahal. In front of the temple is a beautiful marble facade, which has solid silver doors built on orders of Maharaja Ganga Singh. Across the doorway; silver panels depict various legends related to the Goddess Karni Mata. Devotees perform puja at Karni Mata Temple, right from the time temple is opened to the public early in the morning at 04:00 AM, and is open till 10 PM at night. Devotees make offerings to the rats, which roam around the temple, like cheese and sweets; besides bowls of milk for the rats to enjoy. Devotees make two types of offerings; ‘dwar-bhent’ to the priests and temple workers, ‘kalash-bhent’ for temple maintenance and development.
Karni Mata Fair held twice a year at Deshnoke, is the most important festival at the temple. The first and larger fair is held in March–April during Ram Navami; and the second fair is held in September–October, during Navratri. During Navratri thousands of people throng to the temple performing Oran Parikrama on foot. Karni Mata established the Oran herself; a 42 km stretch marked as sacrosanct where no being is to be harmed or any tree is cut. Karni Mata temple is the most popular tourist attraction in Bikaner. Karni Mata is the very saint who laid the foundation stone of the Mehrangarh and Bikaner Fort. It takes up to 2 hours to explore the entire temple.
The idol of Karni Mata sits within the inner sanctum of the temple, holding a trident or trishul in one hand, and is adorned by a crown and garlands. The idol is accompanied by that of her sisters on either side. There is no entry fee in the temple, though there are charges for taking pictures; INR 30 with still camera or INR 70 video camera. The best time to visit the temple is during the festival of Navratri and Ram Navami, during noon time as the number of rats is less as compared to morning or late evening; if someone wants to avoid rats, though morning and nights devotees’ throng to the temple most. People can reach the temple at Deshnoke, by hiring a private car, taxi, bus or auto-rickshaw from Bikaner, which is well connected to al major cities of India by road, rail and air.
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