Baby Monkey at Monkey Temple

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Monkey Temple India is popular among foreign as well as domestic tourists for its beauty and the peaceful aura of the holy place. Home to macaque monkeys to the availability of trees in the nearby protected forest land, the clean water straight from the mountains and the comfy and cozy shelter provided by the Aravali mountains make it a perfect place for the monkeys of the pink city, which wander throughout the city during the days and return to Galtaji Temple by evening. The story of Jaipur monkeys is well documented in the National-Geographic series – Monkey Thieves the series which captured the activities of the macaque monkeys residing here at the temple. Mostly during the days, they can be found in the Pink City – Jaipur,  still on any other day, one can find decent numbers of human-friendly monkeys which are well taken care of at the premises by the visitors as well as the locals who feed them on regular basis providing enough food to the monkeys making Galta a perfect habitat for the macaques.

Dravidian-style tower at Monkey Temple

Galtaji Temple Jaipur has been the center of the Ramanadi sect since the 16th century and most of the temples at Galta date back to the 17th century. Decorated with colorful fresco paintings, pavilions, and round roofs making the place an architectural marvel. Some of the latest addition to the Galta Group of temples was done during the 18th century by Diwan Rao Kriparam one of the courtiers of Late King Sawai Jai Singh Second. To date, one can find saints, sadhus, and holy men clothed in Saffron colored dhoti’s or white Kurta Payjama, which are also the caretakers and ticket collectors and they can sometimes charge you some nominal fees ranging from 10-100 INR, as per my belief it is okay to pay for the holy men are maintaining the place by keeping it clean and managed and also sustaining the heritage of these heritage buildings from the past.

The coupled tanks at Monkey Temple India are fed by a natural stream originating through a crack in the mountains, covered with a marble sculpture of a cow’s head as if the water is being poured from the cow itself. The water is filled into two major ponds known as the bath Kunds, the one on the top is meant for the gents and the larger one beneath is for the ladies.

The Tanks

Certainly, the water is not so clean always to take a dip but during rains, the ponds are cleaned and refilled so one can take a bath after the pond is cleaned. The place is holy and said to have the power to take away your sins and cure one of the diseases as per the people’s belief. A large number of locals gather from nearby villages and cities on special occasions to bathe in the holy waters, one can witness the Hindu devotees as they throng the ponds in order to bathe, cleanse their sins, and attain a place in heaven. On regular days one can see local boys escaping the Indian summers by diving into the waters of Monkey Temple.

The drivable path to the temples via Jaipur – Agra Highway is an old and vacant street that remains deserted now. The old homes are designed and decorated by beautiful Jharokah/ Window with balconies which are painted with beautiful images of animals, humans, gods, and goddesses.

Decorated houses on the way

Some precautions while visiting Galtaji –

• Don’t carry small handbags rather use a backpack, as small bags are a signal of food for the monkeys which they might try to snatch.
• Keep calm when you are walking past a monkey or vice versa as sudden reactions can make them scared and
  you might end up getting hurt
• If you want to feed the monkeys it’s better to keep the edibles someplace where they can see and ultimately they will come and eat on their own instead of feeding them by hand it’s safer.
• Avoid getting any thread or powder on the forehead from priests cause once you get the priest can charge you as per their will.
• If possible be in the company of some locals who are daily visitors and have a good bond with the monkeys of Galta.

Also, learn about the common snakes in India from our blog post.

Feeding Monkeys at Monkey Temple

Welcome to Rat Temple India one of the most bizarre of place, and not so easy to walk into for the weak hearted as what you are about to see and experience is an out of the world story of how Rats living in harmony with humans almost 30Km from the desert town of Bikaner at Deshnok is the Karni Mata Temple the local deity of the Bikaner region this auspicious place of worship is quite popular throughout the globe for the large number of rats in the premises and also since the starting of time there has never been any plaque or disease spread from these rats despite people eating the same offered sweet to which the rats of the temple have tasted too.

Story of Karni Mata – As per the legends it is believed that the son of Karni Mata died and she prayed to the God’s to bring life back to his deceased one but since that would defy the law of nature and he can’t be brought back to life but the Gods rather granted her wish that all the ones of her clan the Charans, who used to write and sing poems on the bravery of the Rajput rulers and also did songs dedicated to god known as bhajans so if anyone would die but would be reincarnated in the form of a rat and sent to this holy place which today is known as the rat temple and it is believed that all the rats at the Karni Mata Temple are reincarnated version of a member of the Charan clan and are well taken care of and treated with the same respect as one would treat their ancestors.

Maharaja Ganga Singh Ji one of the most profound rulers from Bikaner got this temple built in its current form in the 20th Century, for the local deity Karni Mata,  the temple has silver doors and the exterior gate is surrounded by marble panels so delicately carved with figures of animals ranging from snakes to birds and two marble carved lion on the doors guarding the rat temple, all their work of marble carving are done with such precision it seems like the animals are for real in white than carved, one needs time to enjoy this incredible work of marble art on such large panels. The recent addition of a dome on the Garbhgrah or the portion where the idol is kept has been done adding charm to its architectural decor, the doors of the temple are of silver gifted by devotees and have Indian gods and animals made on silver. The temple is covered on top to prevent big birds like an eagle to snatch a rat away from the temple premises and certainly it is important to safeguard the rats of the Rat Temple.

You can come across people from the Charan clan the same clan to which the goddess Karni belonged, taking care as priests, singing songs of devotion, and also managing the whole place as the rats are supposedly their own ancestors, and as per Indian tradition, it is a custom of the younger generations to look after our forefathers and ancestors which is a famous ritual through-out India in the Hindu month of Shrad, where the cow’s, bird’s and dogs are fed and it is believed that the food reaches to their dear one who left this world on a heavenly adobe.

One can see the rats in the temple enjoying their sweet meals which are local delicacies like the ladoo- round sweetened balls made of flour, butter, and sugar and or barfi’s which is made of milk and or dry fruits,  as served to the goddess first then tasted by rats and served to deities in small amounts generally given in hands, alcohol is also offered at the temple which is rare in Hindu temples across India also making it a center of attraction. The rats are feed by the offerings provided by the devotees i.e sweets and milk is poured in a big vessel (PARAT) for the rats to drink and one can see numerous rats around the pyala. The rats laze around throughout the complex and the walls have special holes to provide a home for the rats. Also on the right when you enter there is a big large grain tub that is filled with grains and offerings. Well, it is said that seeing a white rat in the premises brings you good luck and once you come across one there is a gathering of humans around the little rodent.

Rat Temple India sees footfall from people from all across the state Rajasthan and nearby region as well as keen foreign tourists visit the place it is also a famous attraction of Bikaner and a must-visit place when in Bikaner and for the same a large number of tourists visit the rat temple. On the 9 auspicious days of Navratri a Hindu period of worship of the female goddesses comes twice in a year, during the Navratri there is an increased flow of devotees and you need to be watchful if not accustomed to the Indian crowds.

Learn more about the Snakes in India.