Known by many as the 8^th wonder of the world, Karni Mata is definitely one of the most unusual places on the face of the Earth. As impossible as it may seem at this Hindu temple, humans live in perfect harmony with thousands of rats.

Karni Mata rats

The Karni Mata temple lies in Deshnok, only 30km from Bikaner, a city that connects with Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur and other important cities, via one of India’s highways. It was first built in the 15^th century, but was completed in the early 1900s by maharajah Gangha Singh, as a tribute to matriarch Shri Karni Mata, an important figure in Hindi religion, believed to have been a reincarnation of Durga, the goddess of power and victory. Gangha Singh also donated the temple’s beautifully crafted silver gates and many sculpted pieces of white marble.

Karni Mata Temple entrance

To better understand why thousands of people come here every day to worship and make offerings to these rats, it is important to know the legend behind the temple of Karni Mata. It is said that a long time ago, Karni Mata restored one of her devotee’s child back to life, from the hands of Yoma, the god of death. She then announced to all the people of her clan that she had struck a deal with Yoma and that from that moment on, none of them would fall into his hands again. Instead they would temporarily be turned into rats, before being reborn into the tribe.

Bowl of rats

It might sound like any other fairytale but there are some things going on at Karni Mata that aren’t very easy to explain. Although there are over 20,000 rats living here, and no one prevents them from running away, none of them have ever tried to leave the temple. Everyone knows how scared rats are of humans and how they run away and hide as soon as they see us approaching, but not the ones at the Rat Temple. They instead walk around the devotees, minding their own business and sometimes climb on their shoulders, head or arms, which is considered to be a sign of blessing.

Rats feeding

Kaba, as the Karni Mata rats are called never once attacked any of the temple visitors and in all its history there hasn’t been any report of rat-related diseases. The devotees first offer grains, milk and sweets to the Kaba and then they share the leftovers among themselves. The water from which the Kaba drink is considered holy water.

Another interesting fact about the rats of Karni Mata is that no one really knows how they reproduce. Many believe that the female rats are taken to some sort of VIP maternity for rats where experts take care of the delivery. The reason behind this rumor is that no one has ever seen baby rats in the temple, all the Kaba are the same standard size and weight. And unlike normal rats, that reproduce incredibly fast, the number of rats at Karni Mata has remained constant, around 20,000, ever since anyone can remember.

Karni Mata rats

When visiting this holy place, people are obliged to take their shoes off, but if you think that’s disgusting, think again. Despite the large number of rats, Karni Mata Temple is reasonably clean and there are no unbearable odors.

Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5