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Located in Haryana, Kurukshetra is a place of very high historical and religious significance. Kurukshatra is a holy spot and is also known as Dharmakshetra (holy city). According to ancient Hindu religious texts, Kurukshetra is named after the King Kuru, the ancestors of the Kauravas and Pandavas as illustrated in the Mahabharata.
One of the reasons why Kurukshetra remains so important is because the Kurukshetra war of the Mahabharata was fought here and the Bhagavada Gita (One of the most important religious texts to Hindus) was preached in Kurukshetra during the war when Lord Krishna found Arjuna in a dreadful crisis.
In some ancient Hindu texts the border of Kurukshetra corresponds roughly to the state of Haryana. Thaneshwar or Staneshwar ancient towns located besides what is now the newly formed Kurukshetra city. Thaneshwar derives its name from "staneshwar", which means the "Place of God". The Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is believed to be the oldest temple in the area. A few kilometers from Kurukshetra is a village called Amin, where there are remains of a fort which is believed to be Abhimanyu's (son of Arjuna) Fort.
Kurukshetra reached the height of its success during the rule of King Harsha, during which the Chinese Scholar Hieun Tsang came here at Thanesar. Archaeologists have also found that Ashoka the Great made Kurushetra a centre of learning for people from all over the world.
Places of interest around Kurukshetra are as follows:
Brahma Sarovar: Every year lakhs of people come here to take a holy dip in this sarovar on the occasion of "Somavati Amavasya" and on solar eclipses. It is believed that a bath in this sarovar frees humans from their sins and the cycle of birth and death.
Jyotisar: This is the famous spot where the Gita was preached to Arjuna by Lord Krishna.
Bhishm Kund at Naraktari: This is the spot from where Arjuna shot an arrow towards the earth to quench the thirst of Bhishm Pitama.
Kurukshetra also has many popular educational institutes such as:
