Kurukshetra the Land of Historical and Religious Importance

Kurukshetra (कुरुक्षेत्र) is a district in Haryana state. The holy city is also known as Dharmakshetra, Uttravedi, Brahmavedi and holds a historical and religious importance in India. In ancient time Kurukshetra was situated between two holy rivers Saraswati on the North side and Drishadvati on the South side. Kurukshetra is place where the legendary 18 days battle of Mahabharat was fought between Kauravas and Pandavas. Jyotisar is place where Lord Krishna delivered the message of Bhagavad Gita to Arjun. Jyotisar is also part of Kurukshetra. King Kuru who was ancestor of Pandavs and Kouravas performed an intense penance (or tapasya) to Lord Vishnu at this land. During his time Kurukshetra was known as Uttravedi. God Vishnu granted him two boons –

1. This land forever will be known as a holy land after his name as the land of Kuru, Kurukshetra.

2. Anyone dying on this land will be going to heaven.

The planets constellations and starts are subject to the danger of falling down from the sky, but those who die in Kurukshetra (कुरुक्षेत्र) have no fall on earth, that is they would not be born again.

It is said that the place bears witness to the composition of Vedic literature. According to Hindu mythology Kurukshetra is the land where sage Manu penned his Manusmriti. Panini also mentioned about Kurukshetra in his Ashtadhyayi. Buddha also visited Kurukshetra. The place also bears witness to the discourses of Buddha.

Geography of Kurukshetra

Haryana state has twenty-one district at present and Kurukshetra is one of them. Kurukshetra was established on 23 January 1973 by bifurcate Karnal district. During November 1989,  while the creation of new district Kaithal and Yamuna Nagar some part of Kurukshetra were transfered.  The administrative position of the district as on year 2011, is as under:-

• Three Sub-divisions (Thanesar, Pehowa & Shahabad).
• Three tehsil s (Thanesar, Pehowa & Shahabad).
• Three Sub-tehsil s (Ladwa, Babain & Ismailabad).
• Five Community Development Blocks (Thanesar, Pehowa, Shahabad, Ladwa & Babain).
• Four Towns (Thanesar, Pehowa, Shahabad & Ladwa).
• There are 419 revenue villages in the district. Of these 4 villages have been merged into MC area i.e. Sunderpura. Devidasspura, Ratgal (Thanesar) & Dehra (Ladwa) and in the district total panchayats are 382.

Kurukshetra district lies in between 29.9492638 Latitude and 76.8158608 Longitude. The district occupies an area of 1682.53 km². According to Census in 2011, Kurukshetra had population of 964,655 of which male and female were 510,976 and 453,679 respectively. Kurukshetra has a sex ratio of 888 females for every 1000 males. Saraswati, Markanda and Ghaggar are the main rivers of the district.

Climate of Kurukshetra

The climate of Kurukshetra is very hot in summer and very cold in winter. It has total five season – Summers, Monsoon, Autumns, Winter and Spring. It has maximum temperature of 45^° C in summer and minimum temperature of 3^° C in winter. The hottest months are May and June and the coldest being December and January. Sea level of Kurukshetra is 260 meter above.

Fairs and Festivals in Kurukshetra

A visit to Kurukshetra during the festival is an exhilarating and spiritual experience. You can will see

• Gita Jayanti – Every year in the month of November and December the biggest event happen here in Kurukshetra called Gita Jayanti Festival. People celebrate this festival as birth of Bhagvad Gita. This festival lasts for more than one week and Pilgrims gather here to take dip in Bramha Sarover and Sannehit Sarover.
•  Janmashtami – The birthday of Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu which is popularly known as Janmashtami is celebrated in Kurukshetra along with the whole country with much dynamism and exuberance.
• Baisakhi –  It falls every year on 13th April and once in 36 years it falls on 14th April. People of Kurukshetra celebrates this festival with full of joy.
• Lohri – Lohri is celebrated just before the day of Makar Sankranti. People gather round the bonfire throw sweets, puffed rice and popcorn into the flames. They also indulge themselves in merriment by singing songs and exchanging greetings. The first Lohri of a newly wedded bride and newly born child is extremely important.
• Holi – Also known as ‘Festival of Colors’. In local langauge also called as ‘Dulandi Holi’. People greet each other with colors and thus enhance the feeling of harmony due to which happiness prevails.
• Diwali – Also known as Deepavali and ‘Festival of Lights’. Diwali falls on the day of Amavasyaa usually in the month of October or November. On this day, people light tiny earthen lamps to illuminate their homes with bright light and create lovely designs all around their home with colorful rangoli art.
• Teej – This festival is celebrated on Sawan Sudi. It is celebrated to the welcome the season of monsoon. After the first showers of rainy season, a small insect called Teej in the state of Haryana comes out from the earth’s soil.

What to See in Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra is land of historical and religious importance and a famous place of pilgrimage. When you are in Kurukshetra the big question is what to see here and what are places to visit?

Braham Sarovar-

It is suppose to be World’s largest man-made pond in India. As the name suggest it has named after Lord Brahma. In the middle of pond there is a beautiful temple of Lord Brahma, the creator of the Universe. It is said that, the Lord Brahma created the Universe from the land of Kurukshetra after a huge Yajna (sacrifice) while sitting in the middle of pond. It is so calm and peaceful place and many meditation chambers are all around the pond, where you will see lots of Saint. We can see big crowd here during solar eclipse because it is believed that bath in pond during the solar eclipse absolves one of all sins. Other delightful event is Gita Jayanti Festival. Abul-Fazl the courtier of Mughal emperor Akbar who visited Kurukshetra on the ocassion of Solar Eclipse has described the vast water body of this sarovar as miniature Sea.  When you are here also visit Draupadi Kupa (an ancient Well).

Jyotisar Tirtha – 5 km from the town of Kurukshetra, lies the Jyotisar tirth. Lord Sri Krishna delivered the message of Bhagavad Gita to Arjun on the eve of battle under banyan tree.

Sheikh Chehli's Tomb – This makbara (tomb) was made during the era of Mughal and now this monument is well maintain by the Archeological Survey of India. it is a beautiful tomb which is said to be uniquely built in Persian architecture and is ranked 2nd after Taj in North India. The tomb is of a sufi saint Adb-ur-Rahim or popularly called Sheikh Chilli (he got his name from the word Chillas – as he used to undergo prayers for a period of 40 days).

Staneshwar Mahadev Temple – Staneshwar Mahadev temple is one of the most sacred places of Hindus. It was constructed by Raja Pushyamurty, ancestor of Emperor Harsha Vardhan. It was raised by Mahmud Gazani and was rebuilt by Sada Shiv Rao. There is a sacred tank in front of the temple and is believed that few drops of its water cured leprosy of an ancient king named Vena. The  Pandavas worshipped Lord Shiva here and received his blessings of the victory in the war of Mahabharat. No pilgrimage of Kurukshetra is believed to be complete without a visit to this ancient, holy temple. The ninth Guru, Shri Tegh Bahadur stayed at a spot near the Sthaneshwar Temple that is marked by a gurudwara just besides this temple.

Maa Bhadra Kali Temple – This temple is one of the 52 Sakti Peethas. This is only Sidh Peetha in Haryana State. When Lord Vishnu cut the corpse of Maa Sati with his Sudarshan Chakra. The Parts fell at different places and Kurukshetra is the place where the right ankle of Devi Sati fell. According to Purana, the mundan ceremony of Sri Krishna was performed at this place.

Ban Ganga - It is also know as Bhishma Kund (pond). It is situated on route to Jyotisar at Narkatari where it is believed that when Bhisma Pitamaha lay on the bed of arrows felt thirsty, asked Arjuna to quench his thirst. Arjuna pierced the earth with his arrow and a stream of Ganga (mother of Bhisma) river  appeared  to quench the thirst of Bhishma.

Sannihit Sarovar – The name Sannihit is given to it because it is believed that Lord Vishnu stay in the holy water of the tank. This place is near by Brahma Sarovar and people also called it Chotta Talaab (Small Pond). This Pond is believed to be the meeting point of seven sacred Saraswatis also. Large number of Pilgrims belonging to Sanatan Hindu religions come to here every year to offer “Pinda” for obtaining Moksha for their ancestors and for this reason they offer “Pinda” & perform religions ceremonies. Also visit Sri Krishna Museum and Panorama Science exhibition near this Sarovar. Bathing in the waters of the tank on the day of Amavasya (no moon day) or on the day of an eclipse bestows blessings equivalent to performing the 100 ashvamedh yajna. Bathing in this sarovar is believed to offer peace to wandering and unhappy souls.

Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi
Famous Gurdwara in Kurukshetra named as Sixth Patshahi.