Shri Manshapurna Karni Mata Temple

This temple to Karni Mata sits on the Machla Magra hills above Dudh Talai Lake in Udaipur. Maharana Karan Singh built it between 1620 and 1628, at the time the neighbourhoods below were being laid out. It is a different shrine from the well-known rat temple of Karni Mata at Deshnoke in Bikaner district.

Karni Mata, also called Bhagwati Karniji Maharaj, Mehaai and Kiniyani, was an ascetic warrior sage of western Rajasthan, believed to be a form of Durga. She was the patron goddess of the Rajput and Charan communities and of the royal houses of Bikaner and Jodhpur, and many stories tell of her miracles. A Shiva linga sits by the entrance between two painted lions. Inside, white carved pillars lead to her stone idol, kept beside peacock feathers. Pilgrims climb by stairs or take the ropeway, with views over the lake and city, and tie red chunari cloths to the railings as they pray.