The Rat Temple - Deshnoke

Rats were the reason why I planned a trip to Rajashthan. It so happened that one day a friend of mine told me about this unique ‘Rat Temple’ in Rajasthan.  It sounded so unusual! I must visit this place, I said to myself. How would it feel to be in a place filled with thousands and thousands of rats? Would I be able to do it?  I had to find out - Soon after in winters that year, I set out on my (low-budget) Rajasthan trip and Bikaner was the starting point.

Karni Mata Mandir or ‘Temple of Rats’ is dedicated to Goddess Karni and is situated in a small town called Deshnoke around 30ish km from the city of Bikaner. We took a local bus from Bikaner city to reach Deshnoke. The bus ride to the temple itself was great. It was so much fun and informative to interact with the local folks- we thoroughly enjoyed it.  A small walk from the main road (where the bus dropped us) led us to the temple. 

The front of the temple building is adorned with white marble- two lion statues on both sides of the entrance seem to be guarding the temple. The doors are made of silver with some incredible carvings. Across the entrance there are more silver doors portraying different images of the Goddess. My curiosity increased to an ecstatic level as I walked inside. 

‘Oh My God!’ I kept repeating as I entered the temple. Rats EVERYWHERE as in literally everywhere. It was the most unique place I ever visited. I was thrilled. The scene inside the temple was bizarre .You need a strong heart to spend some time in there because like all temples, we need to enter barefoot. Rats in the temple are revered as holy and are fed by the worshipers. Had I not seen myself, I wouldn’t have believed that rats could be as healthy as the rats of this temple- no wonder they party all the time! Sensing my fear, one of the priests told us that there has never been a single incident of rat bite or plague in that area. He also told us that if accidentally one kills a rat, he has to offer a rat made of gold or silver to the Goddess J .It was so cool to just observe an army of rats having milk out of a big round container or greedily nipping at the prasad scattered on the floor or lazily basking in the net on the ceiling. 

I spent hours at the temple examining each and every corner. Where else other than India would you find a sight more inexplicable than this? I was continuously smiling- It was one of those ‘YESSSS’ moments for me- I did what I wanted to do and I overcame the fear of rats:) .No doubt- this would always remain one of the most distinctive places I’ve been to. Whenever I’d see a rat in future, I’d always remember this place. Happily I bid farewell to my rodent friends- we’ll meet again I promised them.

My 2 cents on this:

1.   DO NOT SKIP the Rat Temple. I repeat. DO NOT SKIP the Rat Temple. There is no such place anywhere else. To all the musophobics out there- You can do it!

2. Do not take off your socks (or do carry a pair you won’t mind disposing off) before entering the rat temple – there’s a lot of rat poop all around. 

3.Do not bother to hire a cab for the rat temple. There are many local/public buses in every 5 minutes from Bikaner city and they charge around 30 INR plus it’s so much fun to travel with all the local folks.