Kurukshetra
¤ The Town of Great Battle--Maharbharata
The venue where Lord Krishna mouthed the long Bhagvad Gita (one of
the sacred Hindu books) at one stretch because Arjuna (of the
Mahabharata fame) was too embarrassed to poke arrows into his own
cousins or smash their heads in. The next day Arjuna learns the
meaning of dharma (or duty, which incidentally was nothing less than a
gory war against his bad cousins) and he does exactly what he was
embarrassed about.
¤ Places of Interest
In Haryana, you must keep in mind that there’s nothing really
much to see in terms of actual monuments; it’s only the
playground of history. The Panipat battlefield may be very important
in history, but it is still just a barren field!
Brahma Sarovar
Dedicated to Brahma, the god who created our planet. Small temples
and ghats surround the lake which is a very holy one. It is said that
a dip in its waters during a lunar eclipse purifies the body and soul,
and going by the turnout, Hindus do believe in that.
Narkatari Temple
It was here that Bhishma Pitamah (grandfather of Pandavas and
Kauravas) lay down on a bed of arrows. Don’t expect to see the
bed, although a temple now stands here. Close by is the Banganga (or
Bhishma Kund), a water tank. Legend says that when Bhishma Pitamah was
dying on his bed of arrows and was thirsty, Arjuna shot an arrow into
the ground and out spouted water.
Nabhi Kamal
Another tank, but here Brahma was born from the `navel of a lotus’.
There’s also a Prachin (ancient) Shiva mandir (temple), Birla
mandir, Sanmith Sarovar (tank), Bhim kund, Saraswati kund, Panch Mukhi
Hanuman (a statue of Lord Hanuman featuring him with five faces) and
Raja ka Tila (a mound with a little fortress).
Gurudwaras & Rajghat
The gurudwara, dedicated to the sixth Sikh guru Hargobind, stands
near the Sinnihit tank. The eight Sikh guru Harkishan performed a
miracle of making a deaf and dumb boy recite verses from the Gita. The
ninth guru, Teg Bahadur, set camp near Sthaneshwar tirtha where a
gurudwara now stands. The Gurudwara Rajghat, the big daddy of all the
Kurukshetra gurudwaras, is located near the main bank of the
Klurukshetra tank. This was built in the memory of the Guru Gobin
Singh who came here with his mother in tow.
¤ Tourist Information
There’s the Kurukshetra Library, housed within the university
which also has a Buddhist mound which is protected by the state. If
you want to see reptiles, go to the Crocodile Sanctuary and feast your
eyes. There are plenty of smaller temples, gurudwaras and masjids in
and around Kurukshetra.
¤ Hotels & Restaurants
Parakeet Motel, Rs 250, a/c and non-a/c rooms, restaurant.
¤ Around Kurukshetra
Thanesar- Sacred Town of Hindus
Near Kurukshetra, Thanesar is a sacred town for Hindus because the
Shiva in the form of linga (organ) was first worshipped here. Kuru,
the Kauravas and Pandavas’ ancestor, meditated on the banks of
the Yamuna and Parshhuram killed many Kshtriyas here. King Harsha was
born here, ascended the throne at the age of 16 and ruled for 41
years, sharing his seat of power with his widowed sister whom he had
rescued from Sati (self immolation). During his rule, the reknowned
Chinese traveller Huen Tsang lived in Thanesar for a number of years
and Bana Bhatt, the celebrated Sanskrit scholar, met Harsha here.
Sultan Muhammad plundered the city in AD 1014, destroyed most if its
temples and carried away as much gold as he could. Akbar brought
peace, but Aurangzed just messed things up for the Hindus because it
was a sacred place for them.
¤ Other Attractions
Masjids
Tomb of Sheikh Chilhi Jalal A fascinating monument, octagonal in
shape, crowned with a dome of white marble and surrounded by a white
marble courtyard.
Also check out Chini Masjid and Pathar Masjid, two oustanding
monuments if you love the mughal architectural style.
Pehowa Temple
27kms from Thanesar, Pehowa was built sometime in AD 882 although an
inscription on a temple claims that it was actually built in AD 895
during King Mahendrapal’s rule. From excavations we know that the
town could also have been a part of the Mahabharata lore.
During the ancient period everyone called Pehowa Prithudaka,
conveniently naming it after a certain king called Prithu. This Prithu
fellow had a father who lay dying, and out of the blue the dying man
is believed to have said, "Take me to the river Yamuna Prithudak
so that I die in peace there" (translated from whatever the
language was then).
The son promptly arranged for his father to be moved to the banks of
the Yamuna in Prithudak where he died. Prithu was filled with remorse,
for he had expected the change of air to revive the dying man. So he
sat on the banks of the river for days on end, making all sorts of
offerings to all sorts of gods.
The place where the unhappy king sat on his fast was then named
Prithudaka tirth, and now people have built numerous ghats and temples
in honour of the king’s sacrifice.
¤ Hotels & Restaurants
Anjan Yatrika, non-a/c double rooms are for Rs 300 each. Also has a
restaurant.
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