Rats have been around for over 50 million years, and it may surprise you to learn that they haven’t always had a bad reputation! In fact, the Chinese zodiac honors the humble rat as the first animal in the twelve-year cycle and associates those born in the year of the rat with various positive personality traits, including optimism, intelligence and diligence.
Generally speaking, however, rats have had it pretty tough over the years. The Hindu god Ganesha is frequently depicted riding a rat and believers usually ascribe it negative connotations, with the little critter viewed as a symbol of selfish desires and destructive habits that Ganesha can help us overcome.
World Rat Day was founded in 2002 by a group of pet rat enthusiasts who wanted to challenge the stigma surrounding these creatures and give them the celebration they truly deserve. The day aims to shed a positive light on these animals and promote their care and welfare.
In India there is a temple in Rajasthan state known as Karni Mata Temple of Deshnoke. It is a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to Karni Mata at the town of Deshnoke, located 30 km south of Bikaner, in Rajasthan. It has become the most important pilgrimage site for devotees of Charani sagatis after access to Hinglaj was restricted following the partition of India. The temple is also a popular destination for tourists and pilgrims and is renowned, both in India and internationally, mistakenly as the “Temple of Rats” due to the numerous black rats (Rattus rattus) known as kābā which are considered holy and treated with utmost care by the devotees but the temple actually belongs to the deity Karni Mata and hence the name "Karni Mata Temple". This is sometimes upheld as exemplary of an "environmentally conscious Hindu ethos". The temple draws visitors from across the country for blessings, as well as curious tourists from around the world.
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