Karni Mata

Karni Mata (Hindi: करणी माता, or Bhagwati Karniji Maharaj), known by various names such as Bhagwati, Mehaai, Jagdamba, and Kiniyani is a Hindu Goddess of power and victory[1] described as a warrior sage who lived between 14th to 16th century in Western Rajasthan. Karni Mata is the tutelary deity of the Rajputs and Charans of northwestern India. As a Sagati, she is also worshipped as an incarnation of Hinglaj or Durga.[2] She is the official deity of the royal families of Bikaner and Jodhpur. Karniji played an important role in shaping the history of the region. She is intimately associated with the establishment of the Rajput hegemony in the region. With her blessings, Rao Jodha & Rao Bika founded the new Rajput kingdoms of Jodhpur and Bikaner. At the request of the Maharajas of Bikaner and Jodhpur, she laid down the foundations of Bikaner Fort and Mehrangarh Fort, the two most important forts in the region.[3] She lived an ascetic life and was widely revered during her own lifetime.[4] Indian Army troops from the Marwar region also regard Karni Mata as their patron deity.[5]

Karni Mata
Incarnation of Hinglaj
Other namesRiddhi Baisa
Devanagariकरणी माता
AffiliationCharans, Rajpurohits and Rajputs
AbodeWestern Rajasthan(Marwar and Bikaner)
WeaponTrident
Symboleagle / Sanwali
MountLion and flanked by eagle
Personal information
ParentsMeha ji Kiniya & Deval Bai
SpouseDepa ji Rohadiya of Sathika

The most famous of the Karni Mata temples is the Karni Mata Temple of Deshnoke where the temple and surrounding Oran land are a sacred sanctuary for all the living beings and no one is to be harmed.[6] In Rajasthan, Blackbucks are considered sacred as Karni Mata is supposed to protect them.[1]

Biography

According to tradition, Karni Mata (Riddhi Bai) was daughter of Meha ji Kiniya and Deval Devi, residing at Suwap village which is 20 miles south-east of Phalodi. When she had attained the age of 27, she was married to Depa ji son of Keluji of Rohadiya clan and jagirdar of Sathika. Later she expressed unwillingness to her husband that she married to him only for Hindu tradition and out of respect for her parents' feelings, beliefs and wishes. She made him understand to not have conjugal relations between them in further life. She appeared to him in Her divine supernatural form of goddess then he bowed and touched her feet while they were on the way to Sathika. Karniji arranged for him to marry her younger sister, Gulab Bai, so that he might have a proper married life . She herself remained celibate all her life with the agreement and support of her husband, who died in 1454.

Maa Karni lived in her husband's village for about two years but she had a big herd of cows and camels got as a gift from her father Mehaji so the single well village could not afford the fulfillment of water to the newly added herd in the village. Villager's fear and resentment soon developed into active opposition so Karniji was naturally somewhat annoyed and said "Tomorrow morning I will leave your village together with my family and livestock and go where my beloved cows get plentiful sweet water and good pasturage. You can use my share also here and continue to suffer the hardships of living and insufficient quantities of watering this village. She lived a nomadic life further. She and her followers once made camp at the village of Jangloo. A servant of Rao Kanha who was ruler of Jangloo denied Karni Mata, her followers, and their cattle access to water. Karni Mata declared her follower, Rao Ridmal of Chandasar, the new ruler of the village and continued on her journey. Karni Mata stopped wandering further and settled at village, near Bikaner - Deshnok.

Once a devotee Jagadu or Jhagdu Shah, a Gujarati trader was sailing in sea, and was stuck in sea storm. Then he called Maa Karni from his small ship, and was helped while she was milking cow at her home. And got him reached Porbandar port. After reaching safely, Jhagadu shah came to Maa Karni for thanksgiving her kindness, and told his wish to construct temple. Then Karni Mata told him to construct temple at Porbandar as Harsiddhi temple.

Her favorite son Lakhan (son of her sister Gulab Bai) went to the nearby village of Kolayat to the yearly kartik fair with friends, but he was drowned in Kapil Sarovar, and died. When she saw his body, and her sister started crying, Karni Mata took his body in to a room and locked herself in. When she came out, she came out with Lakhan who was alive. People assume that she fought with Dharmraj, the Lord of death who told her that from that time, her descendants will become kabas (rats) after death, and kabas will become human after death, respectively. So the temple of Deshnok is also famous as the temple of the kabas.

In 1453, she gave her blessing to Rao Jodha of Jodhpur for conquering Ajmer, Merta and Mandor. In 1457, she went to Jodhpur at Rao Jodha's request, to lay the cornerstone of the Mehrangarh Fort at Jodhpur.

Her first temple was constructed in the village of Mathania during her lifetime by her follower Amara Charan. In 1472, she arranged the marriage between Rao Bika and Rang Kunwar. Rao Bika was the fifth son of Rao Jodha, and Rang Kunwar was the daughter of Rao Shekha of Pungal. The marriage was arranged to turn the enmity of the Rathore and Bhati families into friendship.

In 1485, she laid the foundation stone of the fort of Bikaner at the request of Rao Bika.

In 1538, Karni Ji went to visit the Maharaja of Jaisalmer.

On 21 March 1538, she travelled back to Deshnok with her son (son of Gulab Bai), Poonja, and a few other followers. They were near Gadiyala and Girirajsar of the Kolayat tehsil, in Bikaner district, when she asked the caravan to stop for water. It was reported that she disappeared there at the age of 151 years.

In Rajasthan, the goddess Karni Mata is believed to protect the cows and Krishna Saara Mriga (blackbuck).[7]

Karni Mata temples

Mathania

The first temple of Karni Mata was built by Amarji Barhath, who received Mathania as a Jagir from the ruler of Marwar, Rao Jodha. Karni Mata stopped at Mathania and gave her padukaayein to be placed inside the temple, which is still worshipped by the population, specially the lineage of Amar Ji Barath, called Amarawat. The ancient existence of Mathania run parallel to the founding stone of the Mehrangarh Fort.

Deshnoke
Main article: Karni Mata Temple

There are three main temples at Deshnoke:-

1.The Mandh or main temple: The most famous temple dedicated to Karni Mata, which is also called as Temple of Rats. The Gumbhara in which the idol (carved by being suthar named Banna Khati on beautiful yellow marble of Jaisalmer in three months) has been installed was constructed by Karniji herself, it's a uncemented structure with the roof of Jal tree Salvadora oleoides. The speciality is of the structure is that for the shelter of Kabas, no mortar has been used. After the victory over Kamran Mirza, the king Rao Jaitsi (fourth ruler of Bikaner) constructed a structure around the Gumbhara is called 'The Mandh'.Later Maharaja Surat Singh changed it to Pucca structure. The gold door of the sanctum (temple) is a present from Maharaja Bakhtawar Singh of Alwar. Maharaja Ganga Singh renovated the most part of the temple.

2. Nehriji Temple:- After arriving from Sathika Karniji spend a greater part of her life here. The word Nehriji means a dry wood which was revived to life to serve the requirement of churning the curd.

3. Temra Rai Temple:- It is dedicated to goddess Awadji and located at the same place where Rao Kanha suffered for his obstinacy. The original Karand (basket used by Karniji to worship Awadji) and Idol of Awadji is still present there in the temple.

Udaipur

Another temple dedicated to Karni Mata is Shri Manshapurna Karni Mata Temple or Karni Mata, Udaipur, located on the Machla Hills, near Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Park in Udaipur, Rajasthan. One can reach to the temple either by stairs, starting from Manikyalal Verma Park, or by ropeway.

Between the years 1620 and 1628, Maharana Karan Singh developed a residential area at Machla Magra for Udaipur's safety. It was during this time that the Karni Mata Temple was built. Though for a long period the temple was deserted, in 1997 the Shri Manshapurna Karni Mata Development Committee rebuilt it.

Alwar

A further temple dedicated to Karni Mata is located in the historical city of Alwar, Rajasthan. It is situated in the heart of city, near the Sagar Palace and Bala Qila.

Khurad

Another temple dedicated to Maa Karni is located at Khurad, 12 km NE from Gachhipura in the district of Nagaur, Rajasthan. It is built by the orders of Maharaja Ganga Singh ji of Bikaner, in the form of fort. As it is very near to marble city Makrana, it is built mainly of white marble.

New Delhi

This newly built temple can be found in the city of Delhi near the Majlis Park metro station.

References
  1. Geer, Alexandra van der (16 October 2008). Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals Sculptured Through Time. Brill. ISBN 978-90-474-4356-8.
  2. "Amazing Shri Manshapurna Karni Mata Temple – HariBhakt | History, Facts, Awareness of Hindu Dharma". Retrieved 6 April 2022. Shri Karni Mata is the incarnation of Devi Hinglaj or Devi Durga(The Goddess of Power and Victory. Goddess Durgais synonymous with Shakti, the cosmic power that wages an eternal war against the evil and also the energy of life for everyone).
  3. Matheson, Sylvia A. (1984). Rajasthan, Land of Kings. Vendome Press. pp. 129, 131. ISBN 978-0-86565-046-6. After performing miracles and foretelling the future early in her life, Karanji dedicated herself to the service of the poor. She is said to have laid the foundations of the fortress of Jodhpur in 1458, prophesying that the dynasty would rule until the ‘twenty-eighth step’, and when Prince Bika, son of the Jodhpur ruler, was on his way to found his own kingdom of Bikaner in 1465, he visited Karanji for her blessing. Today she is known as Karni Mata. On important occasions her image is dressed in clothes from the royal Bikaner house, whose rulers never engaged in battle without first seeking the saint’s blessing.
  4. Schaflechner, Jürgen (2018). Hinglaj Devi: Identity, Change, and Solidification at a Hindu Temple in Pakistan. Oxford University Press. pp. 65, 66. ISBN 978-0-19-085052-4.
  5. Paul, Kim (1 January 1993). "Negotiating sacred space: The Mandirand the Oran as contested sites". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 16 (sup001): 49–60. doi:10.1080/00856409308723191. ISSN 0085-6401.
  6. Ujwal, Kailash Dan S. (1985). Bhagwati Shri Karniji Maharaj: A Biography. [s.n.]].
  7. van der Geer, A. (2008). Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals Sculptured through Time. Leiden, South Holland (Netherlands): Brill. pp. 57–58. ISBN 9789004168190.
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