Kurukshetra is a well known district in Haryana, which is named after the King Kuru of Bharata Dynasty, ancestor of Pandavas and Kauravas. This place is famous as it is believed that this was the battle ground where Kauravas & Pandavas fought for the kingdom of Hastinapur.

There is a Brahma Sarovar here which is huge and very famous. It is believed that Lord Brahma (the Creator as per Hindu mythology) created the universe from the land of Kurukshetra after a huge yagna. The Brahma Sarovar here is believed to be the cradle of civilization. Every year this pond sees lakhs of pilgrims coming from all corners of India to take a holy dip. A sacred shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva also stands within the sarovar and is accessible by a small bridge.

The most famous site in kurukshetra is the “Jyotisar” – ‘Jyoti’ means light and ‘Sar’ means the core meaning. Hence the name of place literally means the ‘core meaning of light’ or ultimately of God.  A Vat (Banyan tree) stands on a raised platform. Local traditions say that this tree is an offshoot of the holy Banyan tree under which Lord Krishna delivered the sermon of Bhagavad Gita, the doctrine of Karma and Dharma to his wavering friend Arjuna. It is here that he showed his Virat rupa (Universal form), the terrifying image of Himself as the Destroyer God. A marble chariot depicting Lord Krishna delivering the sermon to Arjuna marks the site of the Srimad Bhagwad Gita. In one secluded section of this center, an old Shiva temple can also be seen.

Another famous tourist attraction of Kurukshetra is the quiet, peaceful and beautiful “Sheikh Chehli ka Makbara” which is a tomb built during Mughal period in remembrance of Sufi Saint Sheikh Chehli, believed to be the spiritual teacher of Mughal Prince, Dara Shikoh.

This place can be visited any time of the year and doesn’t take more than a day to see all the famous spots in the city. And this place boasts of a lot many temples which have their own mythological importance but are much smaller and do not attract many tourists.

When I went there, we drove down in our car from Karnal in the morning and had reached Brahma Sarovar in a couple of hours. It was a beautiful site with cool waters to dip your feet or take a full body dip in. After spending some time at Brahma Sarovar, we went to see the place where Geeta sermon was delivered at the Jyotisar… It was an amazing experience to be at a holy spot like this one. Very calm and quiet! The best part about this place is not many tourists are found every day, so it is well maintained, clean and quiet. After taking a round around the holy Banyan tree, we visited all the temples adjacent to this place. Then we proceeded to see the Sheikh Chilli ka makbara, wow that was another very calm and quiet place. A place where you get the feeling that really someone has been put to rest! After spending a couple of hours visiting all these places and a few more temples, of which I don’t even remember the names we headed back home in late afternoon.

By: Ruchi Chandra