The Sacred Residents of Karni Mata
October 27, 2016
In the village of Deshnoke, in India’s northwestern state of Rajasthan, stands the Karni Mata temple and its population of more than 20,000 sacred residents. Tourists from around the world travel to this Hindu temple to meet these residents, dine with them, and allow them to scamper across their feet, which is seen as a sign of good luck. You see, the residents of Karni Mata are rats.
Sacred rats drink milk from a bowl in India’s Karni Mata Temple in Deshnoke, Rajasthan. Credit: © Don Mammoser, Shutterstock
Hindus believe that the soul of a person who dies is reborn in a process known as reincarnation. Depending on how a person has lived, the soul may be reborn in the body of a human or animal. This cycle of life, death, and reincarnation continues until a person achieves spiritual perfection.
The temple in Deshnoke is dedicated to Karni Mata, a woman bard (singer-poet) who lived in the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. During Karni Mata’s lifetime, a clan of followers worshipped her as an incarnation (earthly embodiment) of the goddess Durga. According to tradition, after the son of one of her followers died, Karni Mata asked the underworld god Yama to bring the boy back to life. Yama refused, saying the boy had already been reincarnated. Karni Mata then made a bargain with Yama, so that from then on her followers would be reincarnated as rats until they could be reborn into the human clan.
The Karni Mata temple dates from the early 1900’s. A few human residents clean the temple and feed the rats from metal bowls. Visitors may eat food or drink water that has been nibbled or sipped by the rats. Such rat-blessed treats are considered holy and likely to bring good luck. Even better fortune is said to await those who catch a glimpse of one of the temple’s few white rats, which are believed to be incarnations of Karni Mata and her family. Visitors are required to remove their shoes inside the temple, and are advised to carefully watch their steps. A person who steps on a rat must buy a gold or silver statue to apologize.
