The girl from Suwap who became a goddess
Devotees do not speak of her death. They say she is still here.
Her birth, by tradition: in 1387, in the village of Suwap near Phalodi, to a Charan family of the Kiniya clan. She was named Ridhi Kanwar.
The Charans: an old and respected community of Rajasthan and Gujarat, the bards, poets and genealogists of the Rajput courts, regarded by the Rajputs themselves as sacred.
- Built
- Shrine after 1538, present form early 20th century
- Built by
- Devotees and Bikaner's rulers; facade under Maharaja Ganga Singh
- Open
- From before dawn, with the first aarti
- Allow
- About an hour, with the square outside
- Best time
- Early morning, around sunrise
- Photography
- Ask first, never at prayer, no flash
- Getting there
- About 45 minutes south of Bikaner by road
- Feared and sought: a Charan's curse was feared, and a Charan's blessing sought before a battle, a marriage or the founding of a fort.
- The most celebrated: many Charan women have been venerated as incarnations of the goddess, and Karni Mata is the most celebrated of them all.
- Childhood miracles: healing an aunt's crippled hand, and feeding multitudes from a small pot.
- Her marriage: she was married to Depaji Rohadiya, a Charan of the village of Sathika, but never lived as his wife in the ordinary sense.
- Her sister Gulab: the stories say she arranged Depaji's marriage to her younger sister so his line would continue, and raised their four sons as her own.
- A holy woman's life: tending cattle, guiding rulers and settling disputes across the desert.
- Deshnoke, around 1419: by tradition she settled here and declared a large area of land around it oran, a sacred grove where no tree could be cut and no creature harmed.
- Her disappearance: she is said to have lived about a hundred and fifty years and to have vanished into a flame near Deshnoke in 1538.
- The shrine: her image was installed soon afterwards, and the temple grew around it over the following centuries.
The goddess of two kingdoms
The family goddess: Karni Mata is the kuldevi of the Rathores of both Jodhpur and Bikaner.
Three generations: tradition says she guided Rao Ranmal, Rao Jodha and Rao Bika.
Mehrangarh: at Rao Jodha's request she laid its foundation stone in 1459.
- Kuldevi of
- The Rathores of Jodhpur and Bikaner
- Mehrangarh
- Foundation stone laid by her in 1459, by tradition
- Facade and doors
- Marble and silver, early 20th century
- After 1947
- The Charans' most important pilgrimage
- Bikaner: a generation later, tradition says, she laid the foundations of the citadel of Rao Bika, the prince who founded Bikaner in 1488.
- Blessed ground: on the ramparts of Mehrangarh in Jodhpur or in the courtyards of Junagarh Fort, you stand on ground she is believed to have blessed.
- A royal gift: the Bikaner royal family has honoured her ever since, and the present building is largely theirs.
- Ganga Singh's additions: the marble facade and solid silver doors, added in the early twentieth century by the ruler who also built Lalgarh Palace and brought canal water to the desert.
- Still today: royal weddings and major family occasions in Bikaner include a visit to Deshnoke.
- Hinglaj and partition: after 1947 the great Charan shrine of Hinglaj, in the hills of Balochistan, became very hard to reach.
- Deshnoke's new place: Karni Mata's temple then became the community's most important place of pilgrimage.
- The desert's goddesses: our page on faith and temples in Rajasthan explains how they are worshipped.
Why the rats are family
When the Charans of her lineage died, Karni Mata declared, they would be reborn as kabas in her temple, and when the kabas died they would be born again as Charans. Wherever she lived, she said, they would live too.
The boy who drowned: Lakshman, the youngest of the sons Karni Mata raised, drowned while drinking from Kapil Sarovar, the sacred lake at Kolayat, about fifty kilometres from Bikaner.
Her demand: she went to Yama, the god of death, and demanded the boy's life.
- Kabas
- Around 20,000, the goddess's family
- Fed
- Milk, sweets and grain
- White kabas
- Karni Mata and her sons, a great blessing
- The lake
- Kapil Sarovar, Kolayat, about 50 km away
- The tellings differ: in some, Yama refused. In others he relented and the boy was restored.
- What all agree on: her family would never again pass into Yama's hands.
- Why they are loved: to the families who serve here, a kaba may be a great-grandfather or a cousin, so the rats are protected, fed and loved.
- Unusual in Hindu thought: the cycle of rebirth here keeps a family together across lives, rather than scattering souls by their deeds.
- Where they live: in the shrine, the kitchens, the side rooms and the roof.
- Feeding: milk, sweets and grain in great shallow bowls and metal plates.
- The white kabas: a few are white, believed to be Karni Mata herself and her sons, and seen far less often than the dark brown ones.
- Waiting for a glimpse: pilgrims wait patiently near the sanctum. If a white kaba crosses your path, you are lucky.
- A kaba over your foot: by the same token, lucky too.
- More stories: our journal piece on the Karni Mata rat temple collects more of the stories families tell.
The families who keep the temple
The kabas' relatives: the temple is served by Charans who trace their descent from Karni Mata's family.
The Depavat: the largest lineage in Deshnoke, descended from Depaji, with hundreds of families in the town.
The Baridari: the head priest, chosen from among them by turns.
- Served by
- Charans of Karni Mata's family
- Largest lineage
- The Depavat, descended from Depaji
- Head priest
- The Baridari, chosen by turns
- Managed by
- A trust with an elected committee
- His month of service: he alone may enter the innermost sanctum, and he must stay within the temple's boundaries, living with the kabas, until his term is over.
- Daily work: the Charans perform the worship, receive offerings, clean the temple and feed the kabas through the day.
- Protection: they keep the kabas safe from cats and birds of prey.
- Tame animals: the kabas climb onto the laps of the men who care for them, eat from their hands and share the same plates.
- Nibbled prasad: food the kabas have nibbled is considered especially blessed, and pilgrims eat it as an honour.
- For you: you will never be expected to do so, and no one will be offended if you politely decline.
- The trust: governed by an elected committee, it is also the largest landholder in Deshnoke.
- What it runs: rest houses for pilgrims, museums on the life of Karni Mata and shelters for cattle.
- The grove rule: it enforces the old rule that no tree may be cut in the town's sacred grove.
- Making amends: temple custom holds that anyone who accidentally kills a kaba should offer a figure of a rat in silver or gold. That rule alone shows how seriously the faith is held.
A walk through the temple
The marble facade
What you see: a white marble face carved with screens, brackets and small pavilions in the Rajput style.
- Whose work: Ganga Singh's, of the early twentieth century, and it gives the building a dignity photographs of rats never convey.
- Shoes and socks: leave your shoes at the stand outside and put on your socks here.
The silver doors
Two sets: solid silver doors open into the temple, and further silver doors cross the inner doorway.
- The panels: embossed with the legends of the goddess. Stop and look closely, and your guide can show you the episodes of her life.
- Beneath them: kabas running freely over the threshold, which is rather the point.
The courtyard
Where they gather: an open marble courtyard, where most kabas crowd around the bowls of milk and grain.
- The sound: the soft, constant rustle that every visitor remembers.
- How to walk: shuffle your feet rather than lifting them, so you never step down on an animal.
- Where to stand: to one side, giving the feeding bowls a wide berth.
The sanctum
The goddess: at the centre, her image, holding a trident, receives the prayers of pilgrims.
- Who enters: only the Baridari goes into the innermost sanctum.
- Offerings: pilgrims give coconuts, sweets and money at the door and receive prasad.
- For you: join the line quietly to pay your respects, or watch from the side. Either is welcome.
The side rooms and roof
Shared spaces: kitchens, storerooms and small shrines around the courtyard, all shared with the kabas.
- Worn runs: look at the base of the walls for the smooth paths they have worn over generations.
- A white kaba: if you are lucky, one may show itself near the sanctum or on a ledge. Point it out to the pilgrims near you and you will make friends instantly.
Reading the building
Built by devotion: over five centuries, not by a single grand plan.
The beginning: a small domed sanctum over the goddess's image, established after her disappearance in the sixteenth century.
How it grew: devotees, nobles and the rulers of Bikaner added rooms and courtyards over time, and it reached its present form in the early twentieth century.
- The showpieces: the marble facade and silver doors.
- Also look for: carved brackets and jharokhas, the small balconied windows of Rajput architecture.
- In the walls: images of the goddess and of other deities.
- Ganesha and his rat: one small carving charms almost everyone, the elephant-headed god of beginnings with his traditional mount.
- A nod to the household: in most of India the pairing is a curiosity of iconography. At Deshnoke it feels like family.
- The vocabulary: our guide to reading Rajasthani architecture explains the language of Rajput temples and palaces.
Navratri and the walking pilgrims
Twice a year: during the nine nights of Navratri, Deshnoke fills with pilgrims.
On foot: many devotees walk the thirty kilometres from Bikaner, and some walk much further.
- Larger fair
- Chaitra Navratri, March or April
- Second fair
- Ashvin Navratri, September or October
- Walk from Bikaner
- About 30 km
- Oran parikrama
- A circuit of about 42 km
- Dates
- Lunar, we confirm them each year
- Along the road: stalls offer the walkers water, tea and food.
- The oran parikrama: thousands also walk this sacred circuit of about forty-two kilometres around the town and its protected land.
- The fair: the Karni Mata Fair is one of the great sights of the desert year, but extremely crowded, and the temple can be hard to enter.
- How we arrange it: we watch the pilgrims on the road and in the town, and visit the temple itself on a quieter day.
- The festival: our page on Navratri in Rajasthan explains how it is celebrated across the state.
How to visit with respect
Go early: the temple opens before dawn with the first aarti, and the early morning is calm, cool and full of local devotees rather than tour groups.
Shoes off: you walk barefoot or in socks over the marble.
Socks to throw away: bring a thick cotton pair, and keep wet wipes or hand gel in the car.
- Footwear
- Barefoot or socks, shoes off at the entrance
- Bring
- Thick cotton socks, wet wipes or hand gel
- Dress
- Shoulders and knees covered, a scarf for the head
- Allow
- About an hour
- Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered. A scarf over your head is respectful in the sanctum, though not always required. Our temple etiquette guide has more.
- Shuffle, don't stride: slide your feet along the floor so you never step on a kaba, and never kick, push or chase one.
- Food: don't bring your own into the temple unless it is an offering.
- Making an offering: buy sweets or coconut from the stalls outside and give them at the shrine.
- Photography: customs change from time to time. Ask first, never photograph people at prayer without permission, and keep your flash off.
- Think carefully if: you have a weakened immune system, open wounds on your feet or a real fear of rodents. Enjoying the facade, the square and the pilgrims from outside is no shame.
- Children: they usually love it. Hold small hands, explain beforehand that the animals are sacred, and wash everyone's hands and feet afterwards.
- Time: allow about an hour, including the square outside, lively with sweet shops and stalls selling offerings.
A morning at Deshnoke, the way we do it
Before dawn, leaving Bikaner
The drive: we leave while the city is still quiet and head south past fields of millet and scrub, with the first camel carts already on the road.
- In winter: the air is sharp, so bring a shawl, and a flask of tea rides in the car.
- The story first: your guide tells the story of Karni Mata on the way, so you arrive knowing whose house you are entering.
First light, at the temple
Around sunrise: the square is full of local families rather than visitors, and the sweet shops are lighting their stoves.
- The bells: temple bells ring for the morning worship.
- The kabas: most active now, around the fresh bowls of milk, and the marble is still cool underfoot.
Mid-morning, the square and the sweets
- Afterwards: wash hands and feet, change your socks and sit for a while in the square.
- Why linger: fresh milk sweets, hot tea and pilgrims arriving with coconuts and marigolds make this one of the gentlest half-hours of a Bikaner stay.
Late morning, onward
Back to Bikaner: a late breakfast and an afternoon at Lalgarh.
- Or south: continue towards Nagaur and Jodhpur, arriving in time for lunch at a fort hotel on the way.
- Either way: you will have seen Deshnoke before the heat and before the crowds.
What most visitors miss
The silver panels: the embossed panels on the inner doors tell the life of the goddess scene by scene.
The pilgrims: watch a Charan family arrive, greet the kabas as relatives and touch their foreheads to the threshold, and the whole place makes sense.
- The sacred grove: Deshnoke's oran is one of the old community-protected woodlands of the Thar, and its trees shelter birds, blackbuck and chinkara.
- A conservation tradition: the grove is an early example of the desert's own, which our page on the Bishnoi villages explores further.
- The smaller shrines: in and around Deshnoke, linked with Karni Mata's life. Local guides can show you them, including the Nehriji temple.
- Breakfast in the square: the sweet shops sell fresh milk sweets to pilgrims, and a glass of hot milk or tea while the town wakes up is a fine way to end the visit.
An honest word on who will love it
You will love it if: you are curious about how people live their faith, enjoy the strangeness of the world, or have children who think rats are wonderful.
Nervous visitors: very often walk out smiling, because the temple is calmer, cleaner and more dignified than they imagined.
- The devotion: the faith around you is impossible to mock.
- You may not enjoy it if: animals underfoot are genuinely distressing, or bare feet on a floor shared with thousands of rodents is simply too much. That is a perfectly reasonable feeling.
- The gentle alternative: see the facade, sit in the square, watch the pilgrims arrive and let your guide tell you the story. You will still understand why the goddess matters so much to Bikaner.
- Animals in sacred places: our page on ethical animal encounters explains how we think about them.
- Elsewhere in Rajasthan: our page on wildlife around the temples describes other sacred animals across the state.
Getting there and fitting it in
From central Bikaner: about forty-five minutes on a good road.
The usual plan: most guests visit early on their second day in the city and are back for a late breakfast.
- From Bikaner
- About 45 minutes by road
- From Jodhpur
- About four hours, via Nagaur
- Kolayat
- About 50 km from Bikaner
- Best day
- The second morning of a Bikaner stay
- On the road: arriving from or leaving for Jodhpur, Deshnoke sits directly on the route, about four hours from Jodhpur via Nagaur.
- On a journey: a natural stop on a desert triangle journey.
- Kolayat: about fifty kilometres from Bikaner, where the legend says Lakshman drowned in Kapil Sarovar. Its lake and ghats draw thousands at the full moon of Kartik.
- The royal side: the palaces of Bikaner, above all Junagarh, show you the family whose devotion built this temple.
- Combining them: our Bikaner itinerary shows how.
Where to stay for Deshnoke
Stay in Bikaner: most guests do, and visit Deshnoke at dawn.
A neat link: Laxmi Niwas Palace, in the Lalgarh complex built by Ganga Singh, ties in with the temple he restored.
- Easy drives too: Narendra Bhawan and Bhanwar Niwas.
- Travelling south: the fort hotel at Khimsar, on the road to Jodhpur, makes a comfortable next night after a morning at Deshnoke.
- Compare them: our guide to luxury hotels in Bikaner.
