Did you know that rats are worshipped?

Did you know that rats are worshipped?
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Did you know that rats are worshipped? Karni Mata or Karniji, was a female Hindu sage born in the Charan caste. She is worshiped as the incarnation of the goddess Durga by her followers.

Karni Mata or Karniji, was a female Hindu sage born in the Charan caste. She is worshiped as the incarnation of the goddess Durga by her followers. She is an official deity of the royal family of Jodhpur and Bikaner. She lived an ascetic life and was widely revered during her own lifetime.

At the request of the Maharaja of Bikaner, she laid the foundation stones for two important forts in the region. The most famous of her temples is the temple in the small town of Deshnoke, near Bikanr, which was created following her mysterious disappearance from her home. The temple is famous for its black rats, which are treated as sacred and given protection in the temple. The temple is also sometimes called “The Rat Temple”.

This Hindu temple is devoted to Karni Mata, a goddess who is said to have reincarnated her devotees into rats upon death. Today the temple is home to hundreds of rats which represent the reincarnated. Hindus come to worship at the temple and bring offerings of sweets to the rats. The rats are sacred, and it is said that if you kill a rat (by accidentally stepping on it), you must replace the rat with its weight in silver.
It is said that it is good luck to see a white rat at Karni Mata. It is also good luck when a rat runs over your foot. This is easy to accomplish; there are some heavy rat-traffic areas along walls between rooms, and if a foot is placed in the path, it will get some rat prints on it.
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