India's temple of rats: Karni Mata temple

Bikaner: The Karni Mata temple is famous for its huge rat population. Thousands of rats live inside the temple. These rats are considered auspicious therefore devotees never kill them or hit at them. Spotting a white rat inside the temple is considered very lucky by devout Hindus. One needs to be very careful while walking inside the temple.Located in Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner, the temple was completed in the early 20th century in the late Mughal style by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. The temple was further renovated by Kundanlal Verma of Hyderabad-based Karni Jewelers in 1999. During Navratri, thousands of people travel to the temple by foot.Karni Mata was born on 2 October 1387 in the village of Suwap in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The seventh daughter of Mehoji Charan and his wife Deval Devi, her original name was Ridhubai. According to legend, she earned the honorific name Karni at age six by miraculously curing her aunt. She married Dipoji Charan of the village of Sathika but did not live a conventional “married life.”Legend has it that Laxman, Karni Mata's stepson drowned in a water tank he was attempting to drink from. Karni Mata implored Yama, the god of death, to revive him. First refusing, Yama eventually relented, permitting Laxman and all of Karni mata's male children to be reincarnated as rats.The temple is famous for approximately 20,000 black rats that live in the temple and are revered by devotees. If one of the rats is killed, it must be replaced with one made of solid gold, is the unwritten rule here. Eating food that has been nibbled on by the rats is considered to be a “high honor”.Out of e thousands of rats in the temple, there are a few white rats, which are considered to be especially holy. They are believed to be the manifestations of Karni Mata herself and her four sons. Sighting them is considered a special blessing by devotees and visitors try their best to spot a white rat. Thousands and thousands of rats move around the temple freely unscared of any human being. Despite the presence of a large number of pilgrims, the rats are unafraid. At no time in the past plague broke out here, say old timers. People deem this as a miracle of Karanimata. The priests of Shakta cult worshiped the Goddess. The rats are fed on milk and laddoos. The descendants of Karnimata who are Depawats of the Charan Community worship the Goddess. Whenever someone's whishes are fulfilled, he prepares prasad in two big cauldrons of iron. This prasad is distributed among the devotees.