The Karni Mata temple is cared for by Charan caste members who alternate in the fulfillment of their duties every lunar cycle. Being a temple's guardian is a great honor as well as an opportunity for additional income for the local people.

One of the more valuable temple treasures are the solid silver carved doors depicting goddess Karni Mata and lord Ganesh. In the temple's inner sanctum a two feet silver image of goddess Karni Mata stands adorned by tiara, garlands and accompanied by the images of her sister Avad Mata. It is the only place off limits to non Hindus and where the best "rat snacks" are placed.

The beginning of the rat worship date to the 15th century. The rats are believed to be reincarnation of holly woman and goddess Karni Mata, an ascetic believed to be the reincarnation of goddess Durga. When a child of a famous storyteller died, Karni Mata tried to bring it back to life, but failed. Yama, a Hindu death god, has already accepted the boys body and reincarnated him in a human form. Known for her short temper, Karni Mata was extremely disappointed by her failure and announced that all the Charan cast would consistently be reborn as rats and then again as people. Thus kabas, or "little children" in the local dialect, are considered different than the rats outside the temple and only those rats are said to be the reincarnations of the Charan caste.

Another version of the story has it that during the times of Karni Mata a terrible plague has spread all over the country killing thousands of children. Desperate parents have asked the god of death Yama weather he would release the children. Karni Mata achieved a compromise in which for every offering made to a rat, a dead child would be reincarnated as one of the rodents.