Karni Mata
Karni Mata, known by various names such as Bhagwati, Mehaai, Jagdamba, and Kiniyani is a Hindu Goddess of power and victory described as a warrior sage, who lived between 14th and 16th centuries 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. 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 and Rao Bika founded the kingdoms of Jodhpur and Bikaner. At the request of the Maharajas of Bikaner and Jodhpur, she laid the foundations of Bikaner Fort and Mehrangarh Fort, the two most important forts in the region. She lived an ascetic life and was widely revered during her lifetime. Indian Army troops from the Marwar region also regard Karni Mata as their patron deity.
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. In Rajasthan, Blackbucks are considered sacred as Karni Mata is supposed to protect them.
Significance
The spiritual importance of the symbol of the Karni Mata is that of non violence, protector, peaceful coexistence and provider of the power & legitimacy to the Rajputs. One of the most revered deities of Rajputs is Karni Mata, whom many Rajput clans worship as family goddess and link their community's existence or survival in dire times. Karni Mata is also attributed with having a close relationship with the Rathore rulers, not only of Bikaner but also of Jodhpur. Throughout the history of both states, there are numerous accounts of the deity interceding on behalf of a ruler during times of battle, or in matters of alliance building. As Karni Singh, the last titular Maharaja of Bikaner, noted:"Karniji has always been important for the house of Bikaner. My father was a great devotee of the Goddess, as was his father before him. She has protected every member of this lineage. My wife and I worship her in her temple each day and she continues to watch over us all...... the first act of Bika upon entering the territory of the Jangli Desh, was to come to touch the feet of the most revered incarnate deity, Karni Mata...'"In present times, the Karni Mata temple in Deshnoke has become an important gathering spot for many Charan clans. Her devotees often mention that after the 1947 Partition of India and the subsequent problems in reaching Hinglaj, Karni Mata temple of Deshnoke has become the most important site for the community.
Cāraṇa Sagat
Karni Mata worshipped Awad Mata who was an earlier incarnation of Hinglaj in 8-9th century. When Charans chart the genealogy of incarnate deities, they usually begin with Hinglaj Mata and continue the list with the names of Awad Mata and then Karni Mata. Each successive figure is believed to be an incarnation or avatar of the previous sagat. However, it is important to note that not all incarnate deities follow this genealogy and not all are considered to be forms of, or linked to, any previously known sagat.History
Polity of contemporary Rajasthan
The conditions of the region were unstable, with frequent internecine warfare between rival Hindu chiefs, mostly Rajputs, holding sway over small principalities. Muslim rulers who had conquered Delhi were expanding their territory throughout North India, with Sikander Lodi gaining control of Nagaur in Rajasthan. The arrival of the Rathores, evicted from their seat of power in Kannauj, in Marwar led to tensions with the Bhatis, rulers of the Jaisalmer kingdom, who held small principalities like Pugal in Northern Rajasthan and Southern Punjab. Bhagwati Karniji utilised her influence over her devotees by uniting the Rathores and the Bhatis by marriage and eliminating scope for strife.The northern region of Rajasthan, which would later form the kingdom of Bikaner, was divided into small principalities ruled by various Rajput, Muslim, and Jat clans. Rajput clans such as Sankhla, Mohil, and Bhati held significant principalities, while Jat tribes, including the Godara of Ladhdiya and Shekhsar, the Saran of Bhadang, and the Kasava of Sidhmukh, divided the northeast portion of the region. Bhati Muslims known as Ranghad ruled Hissar, and Johiya Muslims controlled most of the present-day Ganganagar district.
These principalities were not sovereign powers and often shifted allegiances, leading to frequent internecine warfare among them. This contributed to the chaos and insecurity prevalent during this time, as these small principalities often indulged in short-lived alliances and battles or organized plundering expeditions in neighboring areas.
Despite various Muslim powers having conquered most of Northern India, Rajasthan remained a region where defeated dynasties from the rest of India had regrouped and were competing for regional hegemony. It was during this period that Karniji recognized the need and opportunity to unite the Hindu polity under one banner, and found in the Rathores a means of achieving this objective.
The prevalent insecurity and chaos of this time period put the social and economic life of common people in jeopardy. Karniji foresaw the need for a strong and united kingdom for the Rathores out of the scattered principalities of the Jangal Pradesh and lands to the north and east of it. She directed Rao Bika and his associates to work towards this objective, predicting even greater glory and a larger domain for Bika than his illustrious father, Rao Jodha, had won.
Early life
Karniji, named Ridhi Kanwar at birth, was born at the Suwap village on Asoj Shukla 7th of Vikram Samvat 1444. Her father, Mehaji Kiniya, was the lord of the village and belonged to Kiniya clan of Charanas.The founder of the Kiniya clan lived at Khod in the Kathiawar region of Gujarat. In the 13th century, Bhimal, 4th generation descendant of the founder, left home and migrated to Janglu region in Northern Rajasthan. He received a grant of land from Rai Sankhla, the ruler of Janglu, where he founded a village named Kiniya-ki-Basti and lived there. Mehaji Kiniya was born four generations later in the lineage of Bhimal. He was a contemporary of Meha Mangaliya, the ruler of a surrounding region in Jodhpur, from whom Mehaji Kiniya received a grant of a village called "Suwa-Brahman-Ki-Dhani", later renamed to Suwap.
Karniji's mother was Deval Bai of Arha clan. Deval Bai was the granddaughter of Arha Mandha, the ruler of Adha village, situated on the border of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. The birth of Karniji was the long-awaited culmination of the prayers and piety of Mehaji Kiniya, the father of Bhagwati Karniji, and a great devotee of Hinglaj. He had, in quest of the boon, undertaken the long and arduous journey to Hinglaj in Las Bela of present-day Balochistan province of Pakistan. While Karniji's father was undertaking the pilgrimage to Hinglaj, the Goddess Hinglaj appeared to her mother and foretold the coming of the Devi.
Karniji was born as the successive sixth girl child. It is said that her mother had an abnormally long gestation period which lasted for 21 months, and the girl was named Ridhi Kanwar.
First miracle
During the customary Surya Pujan, performed seven days after the birth, relatives and friends had gathered hoping for a son. Among them was Meha's sister, who eagerly entered the purified maternity chamber to bless the child and claim long-expected gifts. However, the child was a girl, which was disapproved of by Meha's sister. In the moment when the aunt tried to strike-more perhaps in anger than play-the newborn with the back of her hand, her fingers became impaired immediately. This light punishment for unjust physical violence to the Infant was the avatar's first miracle. As taking the clue from Mehaji's remark that the child could do things and was in other words Karni, she came to be called Karni. Thus, the occasion of the birth of a miraculous child was celebrated with rejoicing by all.Suwa Brahman obtains a Boon
Suwap village, now belonging to the Kiniya Charanas as their jagir, was named after a Brahmin named Suwa who settled there and made a fortune as a moneylender to local jagirdars. Despite being prosperous and married thrice, Suwa was mocked for being childless. Thus he went and prayed to Karniji, who by then was known as a divine child, an incarnation of Shakti, and she blessed him. In due course, a son was born to Suwa.News of Bhagwati Karniji's miracles soon spread, and people came from far and wide in large numbers seeking her help. They returned healed and content, their prayers answered.
Pugal kingdom and Rao Shekha (1402 AD)
Pugal, located 80 km west of Bikaner, was ruled by Rao Shekha, a Bhati chieftain, during Karniji's childhood. The small kingdom was frequently raided by the ruler of Multan due to its exposed position to the expanding Rathore domains. Rao Shekha led raids into distant towns and villages of Multan and Sindh to sustain his followers, as resources were scarce in the Thar desert. Despite Multan's punitive raids on Shekha's domains, he was undeterred.During this period, Karniji's fame had spread to nearby lands and attracted devotees across the region. One such devotee was Rao Shekha's wife, a pious woman devoted to Shakti, and convinced that Bhagwati Karniji was an avatar of Bhagwati Avadji, the Kuldevi of Bhati Rajputs, and urged her husband to seek Karniji's blessings.
On his way to an expedition against his enemies, Rao Shekha stopped at Suwap and sought Karniji's blessings. When he saw a 15-year-old girl with a basket of food, he realised it was Karniji. He and his soldiers dismounted from their horses and camels and bowed before her, seeking blessings and prosperity for their line.
Karniji directed Rao Shekha and his men to wait at the Kotri while she delivered the food to her father, Mehaji. Although Shekha insisted on proceeding with his expedition, Karniji insisted that they stay as guests and have a meal before leaving. Shekha expressed concern that there were around 140 men with him and it might not be possible to feed everyone at the moment. However, he instructed his warriors to take whatever was served and not embarrass the hostess by requesting a second helping.
Karniji then began to serve the meals, and to the amazement of all present, the provisions available more than sufficed for each of the 140 soldiers and their leader. They recalled a similar miracle by Bhagwati Barwadiji, who had fed Maharana Hamir and his army from a single pitcher on their way to Dwarka. Shekha prayed for a similar boon of victory over his more numerous enemies, just as Birwadiji had granted Hamir the boon to recover Chittor from his enemies and the aid of horses by her son Baruji.
After receiving Karniji's blessings and defeating his enemies with ease, Rao Shekha returned to Suwap to express his gratitude to the goddess. He requested that Karniji tie a rakhi to him and accept his gifts, as Rajputs and Charanas are considered brothers and sisters by custom. Initially reluctant, Karniji eventually agreed and tied the rakhi to Shekha.
The legend recounts that Karniji was hesitant because she knew that Shekha would ask for the impossible boon of immortality. When Shekha made this request, Karniji reminded him that even she would have to leave her body eventually and that granting such a boon would go against the principles of Dharma. However, Shekha persisted and asked Karniji to predict his death so that he could prevent it. Karniji warned him that she could not prevent events from taking place, but she did predict the conditions of his death. Vithoo Bhomji of Deshnoke recorded the forecast in Dingal verses:
Translation: Shekha prayed, "Bhagwati, you are an avatar. Make me immortal, kindly grant me your protection." Thus, Karniji replied, "Who is immortal? You shall live so long as you take precautions and do not allow the conjunction of these four circumstances/events viz. Amavasya khimp cot shade of an aak tree, and meat of black ram."