Inside India's rat temple where 20,000 of them are worshipped - PHOTO

The Karni Mata Temple in Rajasthan, India, is known for its devotion to the furry animals, often seen as the scourge of urban areas.Rats scurry throughout the temple, where they are worshipped, fed and protected.Devotees have even gone to extreme lengths to protect the species by building netting and grills to keep out predators such as raptors.Surender Sharma, a visitor, said: This is my first visit to this temple. There is no history of plague in this area, despite the presence of rats for many years. People come here to worship rats as god.'The rodents move freely within the temple and can be seen eating from a huge metal bowl of milk and grains, placed there daily by devotees.Small children can be seen playing and interacting with the rats - while scores of tourists flock there each day to catch a glimpse of the unique spectacle.Many visitors offer sweets and other candy to the vermin. The food nibbled by the rats is also considered holy and is sometimes consumed by a devotee - even if it has been half eaten by rodents.Priests at the temple treat the furry inhabitants with serious devotion and warn visitors to walk carefully within the temple premises to avoid trampling them.According to the temple rules, stepping accidentally on rat and killing it is a sin.The perpetrator is then bound to buy a gold or silver rat statue and place it in the temple as a payment of sin.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az