Karni Mata, the Rat Temple, at Deshnoke, Rajasthan, India. Rats are inside the temple and crawling outside too. In fact, rats are everywhere at Karni Mata! Here, at the Rat Temple, rats are sacred and people consider themselves lucky to get close to hordes of rats. Photo #1 by Enric Bach
The honest photographer noted, “This is as close as we were willing to go as there were loads more ‘lucky’ rats inside!” Photo #2 by Avid Hills
This is no Disney World with the famous Mickey Mouse. And Danila (Danila85 from Live Journal) was brave enough to venture into Karni Mata in India. Photo #3 by Danila
Karni Mata was a female mystic and supposedly an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga. This Rat Temple was named after her. Danila explained that people are required to take off their shoes before entering the Hindu temple Karni Mata as well as any articles of leather. Photo #4 by Danila
Danila was extraordinarily brave, getting close enough to the feeding rats inside the temple to snap many great shots. Photo #5 by Danila
There are rats climbing and sleeping on the gates. Photo #6 by Danila
Rats running through dung piles at Rat Temple – Karni Mata. Photo #7 by Danila
There are rats sleeping on the wall. Danila said there are rats everywhere! Photo #8 by Danila
In fact, Danila called it a “rat infestation” at Rat Temple. I don’t care how lucky these rats are supposed to be, I’d be freaking out inside Karni Mata! Photo #9 by Danila
Bowl of Rats at Karni Mata in India. Photo #10 by Owen (owenstache)
These lucky rats live a very pampered life. If you are wondering why, legend has it that the female Karni Mata implored Yama, the god of Death, for a special gift. Yama at first refused, but the the god of death relented, permitting Laxman and all of Karni Mata’s male children to be reincarnated as rats. Photo #11 by Danila
Holy rats at Rat Temple. Photo #12 by Barabeke
Karni Mata Temple, Deshnoke, Rajasthan, India. In 1538 AD, the female mystic Karni was supposedly traveling with some of her followers. She asked her caravan to stop for water. It was then that 151-year-old Karni disappeared. Photo #13 by Shakti
Hundreds of thousands of barefoot people come inside Karni Mata temple, in the Bikaner district of India. Photo #14 by Vberger
Rats, rats, and more hungry yet pampered rats at Karni Mata temple. Photo #15 by Shakti
I’m not knocking anyone’s religion – to each his/her own, but I don’t understand this love of rats. To me, it’s EEK! Rats! Photo #16 by Danila
Gates crawling with rats at Rat Temple Karni Mata. Photo #17 by Ian Armstrong
Karni Mata Temple, India. Here rats are considered protected and sacred. If a rat is killed, it must be replaced by one made out of solid gold. Photo #18 by Shakti
The photographer commented, “Rats plus Pigeon equals sanitary.” Photo #19 by Jeremy Vandel
There is little wonder to see such a fine ornament on Rat Temple – warning rats are inside and cherished. Photo #20 by Danila
More rats at Rat Temple Karni Mata. Depending how you feel about rats, this might totally freak you out with such huge rat numbers. Photo #21 by Danila
Rats sleeping and eat, not such a rough life for rats at Karni Mata. Photo #22 by Danila
They sleep in small groups in the Rat Temple. Photo #23 by Danila
Rats in milk at Karni Mata. Photo #24 by Phil Robinson
Inside Karni Mata. Photo #25 by Parag Sankhe
Big surprise, more rats inside Karni Mata. Photo #26 by 4ocima / enhanced by Zappernapper
And . . . yes, even more rats feeding inside Karni Mata Mandir in Deshnoke, Rajasthan, India. Photo #27 by Madelon van de Water Noledam
Starting to see a reoccurring theme here? Rats are coming out of everywhere! Photo #28 by Danila
Rat drinking milk. Photo #29 by Danila
Pampered rats at Rat Temple. Photo #30 by Danila
I’m afraid I’d go running out of the temple, screaming! Photo #31 by Danila
Rat Temple – rats rats rats. You know, many of the posts that I do about beautiful or bizarre places, I wish I could go there. But these photos are all the closer I want to get to so many rats at one time, whether they are lucky or not! Photo #32 by Danila
Yeah, the pictures are as far as I’d want to get 🙂
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Approximately 10 years ago, either National Geographic or CBS 60 minutes produced a documentary on this temple and showed more detailed description of the temple and interviewed priests and devotees of the temple.
YH
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pl tell me train rout for karana devi temple.
khamakhani
these pics are awesome , no one finds pics like these as much crystal clear and cultural
that’s an incredible no words to explain about these marvellous pics..thanks for sharing
I love rats. This is definitely a place I would love to visit.
hello christy
I am yogesh kumar i am a student and i will go that tempal 5 june ,i have alredy visit this temple is you want visit there so please call me or come with me this is my number i live in gurgaon near delhi you can contact to me
Best Wishes
Bikaner is a major station near the KARNI MATA temple, just 15 K.M away form bikaner
that’s marvelous pics. at DIVA temple KARNI MATA
Merci pour les rats , je suis contente de voir que des personne les aime …
It is fabulous, emotional, pure! You, Indian people are fantastic, moral and up by everyone of us!
Great photographer but these rat photos were sick…the temple must be burned down to ashes…so with this sick indian people…why worship these evil creatures that spread disease to mankind…it’s totally disgusting…yuck
Evil creatures, do you really believe that? No animal is evil, that’s just ridiculous. Rats are intelligent, social creatures. Ohe ones we have domesticated – from the wild brown rats, not the black ones that were vectors for plague-bearing fleas by the way – make great pets.
I doubt there is any disease among this rat population that could affect people in any way. In fact currently impact from diseased rats is pretty non existent. People get sick from PET rats far, far less often than from infected dog bites or parasites from cats just as one example.
Mason, you are so full of sh!t that your eyes are brown. You create this lie without any scientific evidence to back it up. Shove such ignorant comments back up your arse and take a microbiology or infectious disease book out from the library; that is, if you can read.
I don’t get it with all the being scared of rats and saying how freaked out you would be? What exactly do you think they are going to do to you, make themselves 10 times bigger and eat you?
I have 5 pet rats at home and they are lovely!
And to the person above who says they are disgusting and spread disease – you are rather uneductated. They don’t spread disease anymore than a domestic cat or dog would. People like you who are so quick to judge are disgusting.
Very very very disgusting!! Seems like Indians really really don’t know what is hygiene and proven in any areas. Rats carry diseases and look horriblely disgusting!! Thank you for sharing the pictures and you’re brave to go close to those creatures~! I will never can!!
It is not disgusting..!!we Indians do know what hygiene is..For your information ..there has never been an outbreak of plague or other rat borne illness in the temple or among the humans who have visited the temple…So you better not post comments as such against Indians as it might be Racist…
I have just been watching a fantastic wildlife documentary called ‘Wildest India’ that showed this temple. According to the narrator, there has never been an outbreak of illness at the temple.
Rats have caused plague in India, perhaps not at that particular temple, but the fact is that it has. And for many plagues there has not been medical history per se, only writings of terrible devastations since the rat vector and the yersinia pestis were unknown to Indian medicine prior to its discovery in
Europe. The most recent rat vector plague was in 1994.
So don’t pass on lies about how clean and acceptable rats are, when that is simply untrue.
Dear (doctor) Louis Pasteur, if you really had that much education you would not be so ignorant. You are just a fearful and hateful cog in the wheel of a propaganda-producing capitalist society. Do you really want to know why humans are TAUGHT to fear and hate other animals? It is so ignoramuses like yourself will continue to support the exploitation of animals in the animal industries; i.e. vivisection and factory farming. Hating other species is based on fear and brainwashing techniques, put in place to keep the population compliant. You can catch more diseases at your local public school. Open a book.
How nice to see these photos, I like them, ,because I like rats, they are nice, and it’s a pity most people don´t like them.
adam.
Friends! On behalf of all here let me congratulate our brother photographer for his awesome.
You will all agree with me that ” Not a blade of grass moves without HIS will’ It is sheer grace of Karni Mata that our photographer brother could achieve this amazing feat! Hats off!Once again. Hail Karni Mata !! # Roses & Brickbats Welcome! #
Well, there are different kinds of rats. The ones most people fear are the ones we see on the street, ready to spring at you and bite. We call them sewer rats, and generally, they’re huge and hungry. The little creatures pictured here seem a lot smaller, and because they are fed and perhaps with their families, they seem less aggressive. They more resemble the kind of rats we have as pets here.
actually I have no idea wheather those rats are nice or not .I myself get so fightened when I see one,but Im eager to know the story of this temple and how the rats became holy in the minds of indians .
Little Loves! Just so sweet. Sorry I’m sucker for rats. They’re canny creatures and deserve a lot more respect than we give them. They only follow the dirtiest, filthiest creatures on earth -namely humans- and they are actually very handleable, sentient and tactile mammals who respond well to kindness.
i am from delhi and tripadvisor reviewer, i’v been to karni mata temple once, even i as scared but trust me karni mata temple is the best one which you will enjoy you feel it freaky, but it is quite adventurous. i am a freak traveler and loves to visit unusual places some of i visited :
-. Karni Mata Temple
-. Kuldhara – Ghost Village in India (nonhabitat)
-. ShingnaPur – the village where there is no doors and locks in homes.
-. MehndiPur Balaji – The only Mass Exorcism Temple in the world..i was bit scared here..
-. Khajuraho – Sex Temples – loved it
Hello Raj. The one place I am definitely going to visit when I eventually manage to travel to India is the Karni Mata Temple. It is fantastic that a safe place like this exists for rats, given what humans normally do to them! Thank you for your list of unusual places to visit. I, too, could be called a ‘freak traveler’ as I prefer to visit unusual locations, so it’s always good to find recommendations.
Thank you so much for posting these incredible pictures. I love rats, I have three of them myself and love seeing pictures of the rats being so well taken care of in this rat temple. If I were a traveling person, I would very much love to go to this place.
Dear Mary, much agreed- rats are such cute, cannie little creatures which humans should learn to respect instead of vilifying and blaming then for our shortcomings. Thanks -R
The pictures are really cool man! just fell in love with these pics inspite of the rats being disgusting…but alas the rats seem more cool than my disliking..ended up loving these creepy fellows…let me say one final thing…May their tribe increase! man thats too awesome! really a vessal full of rats!
Thanks for your comment Varghese.
I agreed to look after a couple of pet rats that had been abandoned on somebody’s doorstep one christmas. I must admit they completely changed my outlook when I found what canny, sentient, highly intelligent creatures they actually are.
When one of them finally died, the other one actually pined for his missing companion, and himself died soon after. So it seems they are even capable of basic emotions.
There is only 80 million years difference between humans and rats, we ourselves are descended from a small mammal that was very much a rat.
Cheerio
Robert
it’s very beatuful place i have never seen