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करणी माता मन्दिर ,बीकानेर
Deshnoke, Bikaner, Rajasthan · 27.7906°, 73.3408°
The famed 'rat temple' of Deshnoke, where some 25,000 kabas — sacred rats — are fed, protected and honoured as reincarnated bards of the Charan community; spotting a rare white kaba is a blessing. Karni Mata, the warrior-sage who blessed the founding of both Bikaner and Jodhpur, remains royal tutelary goddess of the Rathores.
What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.
When her stepson Laxman drowned, Karni Mata wrestled Yama for his life; the compact reached decreed her clan would never enter Yama's realm — dying instead into rat-form and returning as humans, cycling forever within her sanctuary.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Rathore (Bikaner)
Answers only from cited records
Opening the line…