Kurukshetra
The Mahabharata Battlefield And Place Of The Bhagavad Gita; Host Of The International Gita Mahotsav · Kurukshetra, Haryana
A town and pilgrimage region in Haryana, north of Delhi, revered as the battlefield of the Mahabharata, where the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas was fought and where, at Jyotisar, Krishna is said to have spoken the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna under a banyan tree. The whole district is dotted with sacred tanks and sites linked to the epic. The largest is the Brahma Sarovar, an enormous rectangular tank where hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, bathe during solar eclipses, when bathing here is believed to be especially meritorious. The International Gita Mahotsav, held around November and December, fills the tanks with lamps and cultural programmes. Beyond the sacred sites are the Mughal-era tomb of Sheikh Chilli, the Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre with its depiction of the battle, and the Krishna Museum. For visitors, the draw is devotional and literary rather than architectural: much of what stands is modern. It is an easy stop on the road between Delhi and Chandigarh or Amritsar.
Brahma Sarovar Road, Kurukshetra, Haryana, 136118, India
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED; confirm before planning. The usual pattern: the Brahma Sarovar and Sannihit Sarovar are open at all hours, with bathing from dawn and aarti in the evening; temples open early, close around midday and reopen in the afternoon; museums and the Panorama Centre keep daytime hours and may close one day a week; the Jyotisar sound and light show runs after dark on most evenings. THE TRAPS: arriving at Jyotisar in the heat of the day, eclipse days when roads close, and winter fog wrecking train connections.