Kurukshetra

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Kurukshetra (Hindi: कुरुक्षेत्र, Kurukṣetra; " the field of the Kurus ") is a city in the Indian state of Haryana. It counts 154,000 inhabitants ( 2005) and is the administrative seat of the district of Kurukshetra.

Kurukshetra is located about 160 kilometers north of Delhi, 39 kilometers north of Karnal and 40 kilometers south of Ambala. Six kilometers from the city is situated at Pipli the National Highway 1, known as the Grand Trunk Road. The city has a university ( Kurukshetra University).

Mythology

On the " field Kurus " the tradition a great battle took place, according to the Mahabharata, which formed the background of the Bhagavadgita.

In these 18 -day battle fought the Kauravas, the descendants of the Kuru dynasty against the Pandavas, who were also the Kurus. The Pandavas had previously been deceived by the Kauravas to their kingdom and called for a 13-year exile their share back. In the resulting battle, the close blood relatives from three generations fought against each other, as well as allies the greatest warriors of their time. In this difficult situation - before the start of the fight - explained the divine Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna, the great hero of the Pandavas, why he has to fight. These philosophical explanations summarize the knowledge of the various intellectual and religious currents of the past together. This "Song of the Blessed One ", the Bhagavad Gita, is still one of the most widely read sacred books of India today.

It is often stated that the battle had taken place before about 3000 BC. The mentioned in the Mahabharata constellations allow such interpretation to be true, but the sound of arms and chariots described for a much later period ( 1st millennium BC). Despite all the uncertainties, many Hindus see this battle as a historical event, but also as an allegory. So how about Aurobindo in his Essays on the Gita, they interpret the wars in Kurukshetra as a symbol of the ' battlefield ' of yoga and the confrontation between the forces of the divine order and those of the ego.

Attractions

In Sri Krishna Museum works of hundreds of artists from all over India are issued, who portrays Krishna modern or traditional in wood, stone, bronze, ivory and other materials. In Kurukshetra Panorama & Science Center, the battle of the Mahabharata is simulated in models. In the vicinity of Kurukshetra in Jyotisar a temple is a banyan tree which is to be the offspring of the tree under which Krishna Arjuna revealed the Bhagavad Gita.