Karni Mata Temple, Deshnoke

Karni Mata Temple, Deshnoke

Karni Mata Temple at Deshnoke, about 30 km south of Bikaner, is a six-hundred-year-old shrine in which some twenty thousand rats live in the marble halls and are fed, protected and revered as the goddess's own family.

They are called kabas. They are not residents of the temple who happen to be tolerated; they are the reason the temple exists in the form it does, and the devotion directed at them is directed at Karni Mata's own household.

🙏 Why the kabas are family

Two accounts are told at Deshnoke, and both end in the same place.

The first: Laxman, Karni Mata's stepson — in some tellings the son of one of her storytellers — drowned in a pond at Kapil Sarovar in Kolayat Tehsil while trying to drink from it. Karni Mata implored Yama, the god of death, to restore his life. Yama refused at first and eventually relented, permitting Laxman and all of Karni Mata's male children to be reincarnated as rats.

The second, told locally: when Yama refused, Karni Mata — herself worshipped as an incarnation of Goddess Durga — restored her son's life herself. She then announced that her family members would no longer die, but would be reincarnated in the form of kabas, and that these should be regarded and respected as her family members.

That instruction is the whole theology of the temple. The kabas are not animals kept in a shrine; they are the goddess's descendants in their present birth, living in her house, to be fed and honoured as one would honour a family member. Around six hundred families in Deshnoke assert descent from Karni Mata, so for the town this is genealogy rather than symbolism.

Understanding that before you go is what makes the visit comprehensible. Everything else — the feeding, the protection, the gold replacement, the prasad — follows from it.

🐀 Caring for the kabas

The rats are fed and nurtured by the temple and by devotees, and care is taken that none is harmed. The existing guidance on this page states the practical consequence plainly: visitors must be careful not to hurt or kill the sacred rats that move through the complex.

If a kaba is killed, it must be replaced with one made of solid gold. That is not a symbolic penalty; it is the temple's established practice, and it expresses the value placed on each individual animal.

A kaba running over your foot is regarded as a blessing and a stroke of luck, not as something to recoil from. Visitors who understand this walk the halls differently from those who do not.

✨ The white kabas

Among the black and brown kabas there are a few white ones, and these are held to be Karni Mata herself and her sons. Seeing a white kaba is considered especially auspicious, and devotees who are granted the sight treat it as the highlight of their visit.

They are rare, and they are not shown on demand or brought out for anyone. Devotees watch for them; that is the practice.

🍚 Prasad, and the two iron cauldrons

When a devotee's wishes are fulfilled, they prepare prasadam in two large iron cauldrons, which is then distributed to all visitors present.

That is the temple's distinctive offering cycle: the cauldrons are worked by a devotee whose prayer has been answered, and the resulting prasad goes to everyone there regardless of who commissioned it. It is a thanksgiving practice rather than a transaction, and being present when the cauldrons are in use is considered fortunate.

Food that has been offered to the kabas is regarded by devotees as a particular honour to receive. This is a matter of faith and is entirely the devotee's choice; it is described here because it is central to how the temple understands itself, and not as something a visitor is expected to do.

🕒 Hours, entry, and the goddess

The temple is open to the public daily from about 4:00 or 5:00 AM until 10:00 PM, with no entry fee.

Karni Mata is a form of the Goddess — the temple's tradition is Shakta — and she is venerated by the royal family of Bikaner as well as by the general public across Rajasthan. Devotees travel long distances to pay their respects, to seek relief from hardship, and to ask for healing, and the temple has done so for six centuries.

Karni Mata's significance extends well beyond Deshnoke. She is traditionally credited with laying the foundation of Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur and of Junagarh Fort in Bikaner, which is why her name recurs across Rajasthan's royal history. There are other Karni Mata temples in the state — notably at Udaipur and Alwar — but Deshnoke is the only one where the kabas live.

👟 Barefoot, and what that means

The temple is entered barefoot, on floors the kabas also use. The existing guidance on this page is the honest version: socks are permitted and are what most visitors are glad of; there is no version of this visit with shoes on.

That is the single practical fact to prepare for, and it follows directly from the temple's character — the kabas move freely through the halls, so the floor is shared space rather than a surface kept clear for visitors.

🛕 Conduct

• Move slowly and watch the floor. The kabas are everywhere and are not to be stepped on.
• Do not startle, chase, handle or attempt to pick one up.
• Do not bring food into the halls other than what is being offered.
• Dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees, as at any active Shakta temple.
• Photography: follow the posted rules and the attendants, and do not photograph devotees at prayer without asking. Many are here on a vow.
• Speak quietly. This is a working temple with continuous worship, not an exhibit.

The register matters here more than at most temples. Visitors who arrive treating the kabas as a curiosity are visibly out of step with a shrine where they are the goddess's family; visitors who arrive understanding that are welcomed and often helped.

🌸 Festivals

Navratri is the temple's great period, as at any major Devi shrine, with the goddess honoured across nine nights and substantially heavier attendance. Karni Mata's own observances and the seasonal Rajasthan pilgrimage calendar also draw large numbers, and Deshnoke is at its busiest during the fair seasons of autumn and spring.

📍 Getting there, and combining it

Deshnoke is about 30 km south of Bikaner, close to the state border, and Bikaner is the natural base — with Junagarh Fort, whose foundation Karni Mata is credited with laying, in the town itself.

The natural pairing is Bikaner's Junagarh Fort with Deshnoke in the same morning, and for travellers continuing west, Jaisalmer and the desert circuit beyond. Visitors coming from Jodhpur will recognise the connection: Mehrangarh's foundation is also attributed to Karni Mata, which makes Deshnoke and the Chamunda Mataji shrine inside Mehrangarh two expressions of the same devotional lineage.

October to March is the comfortable season; the Thar edge is severely hot from April.

⚠️ Practical notes

• Go early. The temple opens before dawn and is calmest then.
• Wear socks. Barefoot on shared floors is the rule and there is no alternative.
• Move slowly and watch where you step. The kabas are the point of the visit and must not be harmed.
• Do not treat the kabas as a photo subject. Ask before photographing devotees; follow posted rules.
• If a kaba runs over you, that is a blessing. Understanding this in advance changes the visit.
• No entry fee. Anyone asking for one is not authorised.

Last verified: 2026. The two origin legends, the kabas as Karni Mata's reincarnated family members, the ~600 families in Deshnoke asserting descent, the solid-gold replacement for a kaba killed, the white kabas held to be Karni Mata and her sons, the two iron cauldrons of thanksgiving prasadam, the ~4:00 or 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM hours with no entry fee, and Karni Mata's traditional role in the foundations of Mehrangarh and Junagarh are all documented, including by the Rajasthan state Devasthan board.