You might have visited a lot of temples. But ever heard the shopkeepers shouting 'Sir! Buy some prasad for the rats!!'?
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| Karni Mata Temple, Deshnok |
It is always good to read about the place before we go there. But it is better to read about the places nearby also when you travel to a place. I learnt it after I missed visiting the Lonar lake during my Aurangabad trip. Even though I still do this mistake sometimes, I was lucky this time. Or should I say that I had the blessings of Karni Mata?
When I decided to include Bikaner in my second Rajasthan trip, I was searching what else is in Bikaner other than the fort to see. Luckily I came across the Karni Mata temple of Deshnoke. There are places which we read about, decide that we have to visit it once and then totally forget about it. It is such kind of a place.
Most of us would have read about the famous rat temple in India and seen it in some weird shows of Discovery and National Geography channel. And Tamil people like me would have seen it in the Kamal Hasan's movie 'Vikram'. But first,
Who is Karni Mata?
Even though she is worshipped as the incarnation of the goddess Durga, she was a saint who lived in the 15th century. We don't know how much of the stories about her are true and but it is evident from the stories that she played a prominent role in the creation of Jodhpur and Bikaner royal dynasties. It is believed that she blessed Rao Jodha to conquer Ajmer, Merta, and Mondor. And in 1457 she laid the cornerstone of Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur as per the request of Rao Jodhpur. Also, she was the one who advised Rao Bika to create a city and built a fort in the jungle area which is now called as Bikaner. At the age of 151, she disappeared when she and her followers stopped for water in the area near Gadiyala and Girirajsar of the Kolayat tehsil.
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| Karni Mata idol in Deshnok |
What is the connection with rats?
The story goes like this. When Karni Mata's stepson Laxman drowned in a pond called Kapil Sarovar in Kolayat tehsil, she implored Yama, the god of death to revive him. Initially declining, later Yama revived Laxman and also all her male children and reincarnated them as rats.
There are almost 25,000 rats live in this temple. In all of these, there are a very few white rats. These are considered extremely holy since these are known as the reincarnation of Karni Mata herself and her four sons.
Deshnok lies 40 km from Bikaner and you can travel there by either taxi or train.Half day is enough for this trip. I asked the ola driver who came for my fort trip and he demanded Rs.1200 initially and settled for Rs.1000. I also heard from my hotel that if you can bargain, you can get taxis from the railway station from Rs600 to Rs800.
Photography is allowed inside the temple. You can take pictures of the deity also. There are no counters for the ticket. There will be a guy with the tickets in his pocket and roaming there. You just have to find him. I thought the sight of rats is going to be revolting but it was not much as I feared except the smell.
And if you see people suddenly running towards something, it means that they have found one of the white rats. You also join the crowd and beware! If you crush any of the rats with your feet then you have to buy a solid silver rat and offer it to the Karni Mata!
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