Karni Mata Temple | Karni Mata | Temple of Durga Mata Avtar

karni mata temple bikaner

The Karni Mata Temple is one of the most famous temples of India situated 30 km from Bikaner in Deshnok and it was built in dedication to Karni Mata. The popularity of this temple comes from all the rats that you will find here and thus this temple is also known as the temple of rats.

The temple is said to have at least 20000 black rays and these rats are highly revered by devotees. Also called as kabbas, the rats in this temple have a history.

To cut the long story short, the history is that Karni Mata was once married off to Depa when she was already spending a lot of time in the service of the poor. And after her marriage she chose celibacy and requested Depa to marry her younger sister Gulab. They got married and gave birth to four children called Naga Lakhan Puna and Sititha. However in an unfortunate incident Lakhan fell into a tank and drowned to his death when he was trying to drink water.

Grieved by his death, Kari Mata requested for his life back from Yama, who is called the God of Death. Since Lakhan had also already taken rebirth as a rat, Yama declined her request, yet promised her that all her future descendants would be born as rats in her very own temple. Also since they gave up their lives in the form of rats, they would later take rebirth as humans.

This is one of the many stories that are associated with this temple.Devotees from all over visit this temple to worship these rats and the general belief among these devotees is that if you fed the rats with your own hands it is very auspicious. Said to be a 600 year old temple, the Karni Mata temple is one of those temples that you must visit during Navratri. The poojas carried out during this period are done elaborately and with much pomp and grandeur. People are awake all through the night chanting prayers. Visit this temple not just for its grand festivals but also for the beautiful architecture and also the Karni Mata Fair that is held twice a year.

How to reach Karni Mata Temple:

A drive of one hour from Bikaner is all it takes for you to reach the Temple of rats. There are many buses that run from Bikaner to Deshnok and also cabs that will ensure you reach the temple directly. And if you opt for a train journey, the nearest rail head is Deshnok station and for flights the nearest airport is Jodhpur that is 140 km from this temple.

Since the temple is popular, reaching here isn’t a difficult task.