Karni Mata Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner, in Rajasthan, India. It is also known as the Temple of Rats.
The temple is famous for the approximately 25,000 black rats that live, and are revered, in the temple. These holy rats are called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects. The temple draws visitors from across the country for blessings, as well as curious tourists from around the world.
Karni Mata TempleKarni Mata Temple is a popular and unusual holy shrine of India. This Temple is in a small town of Deshnok, which is located at a distance of 30 kms in south of Bikaner in Rajasthan. Karni Mata Mandir is easily accessible by regular buses from Bikaner and Jodhpur. To ensure a comfortable journey, one can also opt for taxis that can be availed from anywhere in Rajasthan. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Karni, who is regarded as the incarnation of Maa Durga.
Karni Mata was also often referred as the Nari Bai. It is known that Karni Mata was married to a man named Kipoji Charan of Sathika village but she denied to engage herself in any sort of matrimonial relationships and got her younger sister Gulab to marry her husband (Kipoji Charan) so that they both could live a happy married life. Karni Mata then lived rest of her life in celibacy. It is believed that in 1538, when she was returning to Deshnok with her stepson Poonjar and other followers. It was when they were near Gadiyala and Girirajsar in Bikaner district where she asked the caravan to stop for water and she disappeared there, reportedly at the age of 151 years .
Karni Mata Temple History
The Karni Mata temple is also known as the Rat temple and is named after a woman, who was the seventh daughter of Mehoji Charan and Deval Devi and born in the 14th century in the Suwap village of Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. She was an incarnation of Durga, the goddess of power and victory. She lived an abstemious life, and most of the temples dedicated to her were dedicated during her lifetime.She is an official deity of the royal family of Bikaner and Jodhpur. During her lifetime she performed many miracles and also laid the foundation stone of two of the important forts in Rajputana. She led her whole life to help all the needy peoples, attracted and followed by a huge number of devotees.
