Interesting Fact About Karni Mata Temple In Bikaner

India is a land of bizarre customs and rituals and the best part is that we love celebrating these customs and rituals. Rajasthan is vast and beautiful and if someone asked you to list the number of tourist attractions and activities you would for sure get overwhelmed. Listing all the popular attractions in Rajasthan is not an easy task. And when it comes to Bikaner, this place is all about ancient forts, temples and architectural wonders. Camel safaris are another popular thing in Bikaner. But here we are discussing Karni Mata Temple which most of the people don't even know about.

The temple, also known as the temple of rats, act as a major attraction here. The unique temple in Deshnok town attracts a large number of tourists every year. and to many, this is the freakiest thing they've ever seen. At this temple, there are a thousand rats that live in complete harmony and breed on the offerings made by the devotees who travel to the temple from faraway places.

It is believed that the Goddess Karni Mata was one among the Charin clan and remained so during her lifetime. She lived to be 150 years old and who remained young & beautiful as long as she lived. The goddess, after her death, became a rat and stayed in the confines of the temple which is located in the heart of Bikaner city.  The followers of the goddess Charin till date believe that once they die they too will be reincarnated into a rat and subsequently when a rat would die, it would take a rebirth into a human form.

The fact that these rodents are worshipped and adored by their followers make this temple a special attraction. Charin People also believe that the rats of the temple are their ancestors. Quite surprisingly, even during the heavy plague, the Deshnok town remained unaffected.

When the worshippers go there at the temple to complete their pilgrimage to the Karni Mata Rat Temple, they not just worship them but also seek the rats to heal their agony. People also say that despite being free, the rats never leave the temple premises and never run away even though they aren't restricted by anything. So, the fact that these rats are served with delicious offerings and tasty milk keeps them so close to the temple and never run away.

Spotting a white rat is considered lucky here and you can but only brace your luck to spot one when you are around. The white rat is auspicious and is perfect to catch a glimpse as it is considered auspicious by the locals in the village. Humans really look forward to seeing this one and the moment it appears, everyone around just surround it. While entering the temple one has to be careful about being barefoot. Also, if you are entering the temple you must be prepared to walk through a lot of rat poop everywhere. So basically, this temple has a lot of mess around.

How to reach Karni Mata Temple:

Deshnok is 30 km from Bikaner which can be easily accessed by road. Buses frequently ply from Bikaner to Deshnok. Karni Mata Mandir is a once in a lifetime experience for every experience lover. Once you are here the strangeness of the temple and the surroundings would leave you curious at the same time enchanted for sure.