Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra कुरुक्षेत्र
City
Bronze Chariot with Lord Krishna and Arjuna in Kurukshetra.
Kurukshetra Show map of Haryana Kurukshetra Show map of India
Coordinates: 29°57′57″N 76°50′13″E / 29.965717°N 76.837006°E / 29.965717; 76.837006Coordinates: 29°57′57″N 76°50′13″E / 29.965717°N 76.837006°E / 29.965717; 76.837006
Country	India
State	Haryana
District	Kurukshetra
Area
• Total	1,530 km2 (590 sq mi)
Population
• Total	964,655
• Density	630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Punjabi
• regional	Haryanvi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	136118
Telephone code	911744
ISO 3166 code	IN-HR
Vehicle registration	HR 07X XXXX
Website	kurukshetra.nic.in
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Kurukshetra ( pronunciation ; Hindi: कुरुक्षेत्र) is a city in the state of Haryana, India. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Holy Place"). According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is a region named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas, as depicted in epic Mahabharata. The importance of the place is attributed to the fact that the Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharata was fought on this land and the Bhagavad Gita was preached here during the war when Lord Krishna found Arjuna in a terrible dilemma. The population of Kurukshetra was 964,655 in 2016.

Before the establishment of a refugee camp named Kurukshetra in 1947, Thanesar was the name of the tehsil headquarters and the town. Thanesar or Sthaneswar is a historical town located adjacent to what is now the newly created Kurukshetra city. Thanesar derives its name from the word "Sthaneshwar", which means "Place of God". The Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple, whose presiding deity is Lord Shiva, is believed to be the oldest temple in the vicinity. Local hearsay identifies the legendary "Kurukshetra" with a place near Thanesar. A few kilometers from Kurukshetra is the village known as Amin, where there are remnants of a fort which is believed to be Abhimanyu's.

In most ancient Hindu texts, Kurukshetra is not a city but a region ("kshetra" meaning "region" in Sanskrit). The boundaries of Kurukshetra correspond roughly to the central and western parts of state of Haryana and southern Punjab. Thus according to the Taittiriya Aranyaka 5.1.1., the Kurukshetra region is south of Turghna (Srughna/Sugh in Sirhind, Punjab), north of Khandava (Delhi and Mewat region), east of Maru (desert) and west of Parin.