Before middle 15th century rule, the region that is Bikaner was a barren wilderness called Jangladesh.
It was in 1488, that Rao Bika established the city of Bikaner.
The Karni Mata temple at Deshnoke, 30 km from Bikaner, in its present form was completed in the early 20th century in the late Mughal style by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. The temple is famous for its rats, which are treated as sacred and given protection in the temple.
