In the Indian temple of Karni Mata, rats are not scared away – they are respected, they are worshipped. Thousands of rodents scurry around the temple floors and fight each other for access to huge saucers of milk.
Rats in Karni Mata
Although the origins of rat worship in India date back to the fifteenth century, the current temple, with its intricate marble panels and silver carvings, was built in the early 1900s in honor of Karni Mata and her reincarnated subjects. Rats are revered here as the holy descendants of Karni Mata, who worshiped her as the incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga.
Karni Mata
Karni Mata, India
Karni Mata ( Karni Mata) in India
Karni Mata
The story of how Karni Mata's offspring took the form of rodents has several versions, but the most common version begins with her request to Yoma, the god of death, to revive her drowned stepson. Yoma surrendered, promising that the boy and all male descendants of Karni Mata would be reincarnated as rats. According to another version, the god of death refused to help and Karni Mata promised that all male storytellers – members of the Charan caste – would be reincarnated as rats in her temple. After they die in the body of rats, they will be reborn into humans.
Karni Mata in India
Karni Mata, India
Karni Mata Temple
The rats, known as “kabbas” or “little children”, are fed grains, milk and coconuts. The water drunk by the rats is considered holy, and the remains of their food are said to bring good luck. In the legend, there is another reason why animals are kept safe: according to the laws of the temple, if one of the rats is accidentally killed, then it must be replaced by a rat made of silver or gold.
Karni Mata Temple, India
Rats at Karni Mata Temple
Karni Mata Indian Temple
Shoes are not allowed in the temple if a rat runs over your feet – this is an auspicious sign, but it is even better to see a white rat, of which there are only four or five out of twenty thousand. To see the temple in all its beauty, visitors should arrive late at night or before dawn, when the rats are in full force and gathering food.
Karni Mata Indian Temple
Rats
But life in a rat is not always so smooth. Sweet foods, fights between rats, and the sheer number of individuals living in the temple make the animals an easy target for disease. Indigestion and diabetes are extremely common among rats, and every few years an epidemic thins out the population. Fortunately, despite the danger to the rats themselves, there are no recorded cases of humans contracting the rat temple disease.
Rats drinking milk
Temple in India