Rao Bika in the context of List of Rajput dynasties and states

Bikaner State was the Princely State in the north-western most part of the Rajputana province of imperial British India from 1818 to 1947. The founder of the state Rao Bika was a younger son of Rao Jodha ruler of and founder of the city of Jodhpur in Marwar. Rao Bika chose to establish his own kingdom instead of inheriting his father's. Bika defeated the Jat clans of Jangladesh which today refers to the north and north-western Rajasthan along with his uncle Rao Kandhal and his adviser Vikramji Rajpurohit and founded his own kingdom. Its capital was the city of Bikaner.

The state was noted for the Bikaner style of Miniature Painting.

Karni Mata (Hindi: करणी माता, or Bhagwati Karniji Maharaj), 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.

Bikaner (IPA: [biːkaːneːɾ] ) is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is situated approximately 330 kilometres (205 mi) northwest of the state capital, Jaipur, in the Thar Desert region of western Rajasthan. Bikaner serves as the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of the princely Bikaner State, the city was founded in 1488 CE by Rao Bika, a Rajput chief of the Rathore dynasty. From its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganga Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, facilitated its development.