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Karni Mata Temple

Karni Mata Temple

pilgrimage site · Rajasthan

Karni Mata Temple, also called Madh, is the one known well beyond Rajasthan as the Temple of Rats, and the name is meant literally.

State
Rajasthan
Type
Pilgrimage Site
Best season
Winter

Karni Mata Temple, also called Madh, is the one known well beyond Rajasthan as the Temple of Rats, and the name is meant literally. It stands in Deshnoke, a small town 30 km south of Bikaner. Twenty thousand or more rats, the kaba, live throughout the complex and are cared for as kin, with bowls of milk set out for them around the temple. Anyone who kills one, even by accident, must replace it with a rat made of gold. The temple's story is that Karni Mata's stepson Lakshman drowned in Kapil Sarovar at Kolayat, and that she went to Yamraj, the god of death, to ask for him back. In the story, Yamraj gave way, and since then her Charan lineage have been reborn as kaba in her temple rather than going to him. A few white rats are held to be Karni Mata and her family. Seeing one counts as a blessing. She is worshipped as an incarnation of Hinglaj or Durga, and the Rajputs and Charans of northwestern India hold her as their tutelary deity; at Navratri her pilgrims come mainly from Rajasthan and Gujarat. You go in through a marble front and solid silver doors whose panels tell her legends. The sanctum itself you see from outside: its floor is worked in crisscross patterns, and a 75 cm image of the goddess holds a trident and wears a mukut and garlands. Images of her sisters flank it. The temple is open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, with no entry fee.

Karni Mata Temple is known for

Kaba, the temple's ratsWhite rats held to be Karni Mata and her familySilver doors with panels of her legendsNavratri fairs in Chaitra and AshwinThe 42 km Oran of Deshnoke

A short history

Karni Mata is remembered as a warrior sage who lived in western Rajasthan between the 14th and 16th centuries. By tradition she was born into the Kiniya lineage of Charans and founded Deshnoke in 1419 CE (Vaisakh Sudi 2, Samvat 1476) under the name Deshnak, 'Nose of the Land'. The same tradition has her laying the cornerstone of Jodhpur's fort in 1457 and the foundation stone of Bikaner's fort in 1485, and disappearing near Diyatra on 21 March 1538. Those dates span 119 years, so read them as the tradition's account rather than a biography. Whatever the dates, she is the official deity of the royal families of Bikaner and Jodhpur. The temple began after her death as a domed inner sanctum and grew as devotees added to it over the following centuries, until Maharaja Ganga Singh completed it in its present form in the early 20th century. In 1999 Kundan Lal Verma, a Hyderabad-based jeweller, added marble carving and silver gates, though other accounts credit the solid silver doors to Ganga Singh.

When to go

November to February. In Bikaner, 30 km north, average daytime highs then run from 23°C to 31°C and no month gets more than 8 mm of rain. April to June brings average highs of 38°C to 42°C, and May has gone past 49°C. Come in Chaitra (March–April) or Ashwin (September–October) Navratri only if you want the fair, when thousands walk to the temple.

Why visit

Go for the kaba, and go knowing this is a working shrine rather than a sight: the rats underfoot are sacred, and you are a guest among them. Don't come for the architecture. The marble front and silver doors deserve a slow look on the way in, but they are 20th-century additions to an older shrine, and it is the rats you will remember. If the thought of sharing a floor with thousands of rats turns your stomach, spend the morning in Bikaner instead.

Cultural notes

Charan priests and workers carry out the rituals. The head priest, the baridari, comes from the Depavat lineage, the largest Charan lineage in Deshnoke at more than 500 families, and is chosen in turn from a list the temple administration keeps. For his month-long term he lives inside the temple, and he is the only person who enters the garbhagriha. Rajput families bring their children here for Jadula, the first haircut. Many worshippers share their food and milk with the kaba, believing the rats' saliva heals, and eating something a kaba has nibbled is counted a high honour. The trust that runs the temple, the Shri Karani Mandir Nij Pranyas, reaches well past the building. It keeps dharamshalas, two museums on Karni Mata's history and two large gaushalas, and it enforces the ban on cutting trees in Deshnoke. Around the temple lies the Oran, a 42 km stretch where no living being is to be harmed and no tree-wood cut for fuel; in the Navratras the Oran Parikrama usually draws tens of thousands.

How to reach

The nearest major city is Bikaner, 30 km away. Its Nal airport, 42 to 44 km from Deshnoke, is the nearest, with direct flights from Delhi and Jaipur; routes change, so check the current schedule. Bikaner has trains as far as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Guwahati; its station is Bikaner Railway Station (BKN). Deshnoke has its own railway station, Deshnok, within a kilometre of the temple: if your train stops there, you can walk the rest. Otherwise the last stretch from Bikaner is by road.

Karni Mata Temple guide & itineraries

Frequently asked questions

What is the best time to visit Karni Mata Temple?

November to February, when Bikaner's average daytime high sits between 23°C and 31°C. From April to June it runs from 38°C to 42°C, which makes the middle of the day hard going.

What are Karni Mata Temple timings and entry fee?

It is open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, and there is no entry fee. For aarti and bhog times, ask at the temple itself.

How do I reach Karni Mata Temple from Bikaner?

Deshnoke is 30 km from Bikaner and has its own railway station, Deshnok, within a kilometre of the temple. Bikaner is where you arrive by air (Nal is the nearest airport), on long-distance trains or by express bus.

Why is Karni Mata Temple called the rat temple?

Twenty thousand or more rats, called kaba, live throughout it and are cared for as kin. The temple's story is that they are Karni Mata's Charan lineage: when her stepson drowned she went to Yamraj, the god of death, and he gave way, so her family are reborn as rats in her temple instead of going to him.

What happens if you kill a rat at Karni Mata Temple?

Harming a kaba is treated as a grave sin. Anyone who kills one, even by accident, must replace it with a rat made of gold; some accounts allow solid silver.

When is the Karni Mata fair at Deshnoke?

Twice a year, in the two Navratris. The larger fair runs from Chaitra Shukla Ekam to Dashami (March–April) and the second in Ashwin (September–October), when thousands walk to the temple. The dates follow the Hindu calendar, so check that year's Navratri before you book.

Can Karni Mata Temple be done as a day trip from Bikaner?

Yes. With the temple open from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., there is room to fit it around a day in Bikaner. The temple trust keeps dharamshalas, but with its trains and buses Bikaner is the easier base.

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