Karni Mata Temple, Rajasthan: A Temple With 20,000+ Rats

Yes, there is a temple in the Deshnok village of Rajasthan near Bikaner that is home to around 20,000 rats. The locals highly revere the rats inside the temple and it is considered a great sin if you even accidentally kill one inside the temple. But as soon as you step a foot outside the temple, the rats outside are just annoying pests!

What makes Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan Special?

The rats in this temple are almost the same size and can be seen emerging from the various parts of the temple like the crevices in the floor, wall, and roof. These rats are called Kaba and they are even present in the main sanctum. There are various types of food items kept on plates for the kaba to eat like nuts, grains, milk, fruits, halwa, coconut, roti, laddu, and even liquor.

The food nibbled by these Kaba inside the temple is then served as prasad in the Karni Mata temple. What is even more surprising is that no one has ever been sick after eating the prasad nibbled by the Kaba of the Karni Mata Temple.

Even though the Rat Temple of Rajasthan has more than 20,000 rats, the temple premises do not have any foul smell. The rats do not harm the goods and products in the shops surrounding the temple. The rats in the temple also have never been a reason to spread any animal-related disease and that is why they are highly worshipped here.

But who are these rats? Where do they come from and Why they are revered? Before answering all these questions, let me first tell you about Karni Mata who is also known as the “Mother of Rats” in the Karni Mata Temple.

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