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Karni Mata Temple, Deshnoke

Deshnoke, Bikaner district, Rajasthan (about 30 km south of Bikaner)

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Karni Mata Temple, Deshnoke
Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0

About

The Karni Mata temple at Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner, is known around the world for its kabas: thousands of rats that roam freely in the temple and are held sacred. Karni Mata was an ascetic and warrior saint of the Charan community who lived more than five hundred years ago, and she is worshipped as a form of Maa Durga. She is the kuldevi of the royal families of Bikaner and Jodhpur. The present marble temple, with its solid silver doors, was completed by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner in the early 20th century. Seeing a white kaba is thought to be very auspicious.

The story

Karni Mata lived the life of an ascetic and was worshipped even in her own lifetime. Tradition says that at the request of the rulers she laid the foundation stones of the forts of Bikaner and Jodhpur (Mehrangarh). She was married to Depaji but chose a life of devotion, and arranged his marriage with her younger sister so that his family line would go on. She raised their four sons as her own children.

One day the youngest son, Lakhan (Lakshman), drowned in the Kapil Sarovar at Kolayat. His mother begged Karni Mata to bring him back. The story says Karni Mata went to Yamraj and asked for the boy's life. When Yamraj asked how the cycle of birth and death would then go on, she declared that her family would no longer go to Yama: after death they would stay with her as kabas, and the kabas would be born again into her family. Devotees believe this is why the kabas of Deshnoke are cared for like members of the family.

After Karni Mata left the world, in the 16th century, the first temple was raised at the spot where she was worshipped, and devotees kept adding to it over the centuries.

Visiting

October to March is the best time; summers in the Thar are very harsh. You walk barefoot inside the temple, so move slowly and carefully, as the kabas run everywhere and hurting one is seen as a serious fault. In Navratri many devotees walk here on foot. Bikaner city is 30 km away.

Festivals

  • Chaitra Navratri fair (Chaitra Shukla Pratipada to Dashami)
  • Ashwin (Sharad) Navratri fair (Ashwin Shukla Pratipada to Dashami)

Devta dhams

Sources