BIKANER
Calling Code: +91
Bikaner, which means "the settlement of Bika," was founded in 1488 by Rajput chieftain Bika. Over the centuries, his
successors added to and extended the city, and by 1945 it covered more than 23,000 square miles. Modern-day Bikaner is home to
manufacturing and electrical works, and is a trade center for building stone, grain, hides, wool and salt. The city is also known
for its woolen shawls, carpets, blankets, candy, and lacquerware and ivory handicrafts.
The old district of Bikaner is surrounded by a 15-30 foot high stone wall with five gates. Within this wall are many buildings of
brilliant yellow and red sandstone.
One of the more interesting of Bikaner's many forts and palaces is the Temple of Karni Mata. This stone and marble structure is named
for an ascetic who lived her life dedicated to helping the poor and downtrodden, and who was believed to have supernatural powers. Her
principal followers worshipped her as a goddess, and Bikaner's rulers regarded her as a patron deity. The temple's shrine houses images
of Karni Mata, her sisters and the sisters of Avad Mata.
The most unusual aspect of the Temple of Karni Mata, however, is its huge
population of brown rats that run free throughout the chambers and corridors. These rats are sacred, believed to have been Hindu holy
men in previous lives. They are fed milk, meal and sweets in silver bowls, from which pilgrims eat and drink afterward, because it is
considered a blessing to eat food coated with rat saliva. It is considered good luck to spot a white rat among the hundreds of
thousands of brown rats flooding the halls, and it is also good luck to be bitten. It is rare that anyone receives a rat bite, even
though all visitors are required to remove their shoes before entering the Temple of Karni Mata.
Maharaja Ganga Singh, called "the maker of modern Bikaner," built the magnificent Laxmi Niwas Palace, considered the crowining glory of
Bikaner's forts and palaces, as his personal residence in 1902. Designed by English architect Sir Swinton Jacob, the palace is built
of intricately carved red sandstone around a central courtyard with a garden and fountain. Its rooftop is rimmed with glittering stone
lacework, meant to be the crown on the head of the palace.
The Bikaner royal family still live in part of Laxmi Niwas Palace, and the rest is now a luxury hotel with 38 air-conditioned rooms.
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