Kurukshetra

Walking in the biting cold, teeth chattering, with Rajan my travel companion was an exhilarating experience. We are headed towards Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra and are eager to reach this humongous water body created especially for providing water to the crores of animals and men engaged in the Kurukshetra war.

We are in Kurukshetra, a small town about three hours drive from N. Delhi. This is the place where wehere the Mahabharatha war between the Pandavas and Kauravas took place.  We left N. Delhi at 5:15 PM by the Kalka Shatabdi to reach Kurukshetra at &:15. The weather is very cold though N. Delhi had been somewhat warm. The Kurukshetra Railway Station platform is nice and neat and is quite broad. Though Make My Trip shows 14 Hotels in Kurukshetra, the locals directed us to the Pearl Marc hotel not very far from the station. After checking in and relaxing a bit we decided to take a walk to the Brahma Sarovar. The people are quite friendly and were more than happy to guide us to the gates of the huge Sarovar. On the way we passed by Arjun Chowk with a statue of the Mahabharata hero.

The huge water reservoir in the darkness with a few lights blinking on the opposite shore so far away. It is indeed a Sarovar. According to local tradition, it was first excavated by King Kuru and is associated with Prajapathi or Brahmaji who first performed a sacrifice here. On one side of the huge tank is a statue of Krishna and Arjun on a chariot. This is well lit in the night and is a sight to be seen.

Millions of people flock to Kurukshetra during a solar eclipse to take bath in this tank.

The next day we started early (eight O’ Clock is early in winter!) to reach Jyothi sar. About 6 Kms away, this is the spot where there stands an immortal banyan tree which bears witness to the Gitopadesam or the teaching of the Bhagwad Gita by Krishna to Arjuna. The name Jyothi Sar is a corruption of the word Jyothishwar which is the name of the Shiv Ling which is situated here in a temple near the Banyan tree. In fact there is one more banyan tree near the Shiv Mandir that bears witness to the ravages of the Foreign invaders. This place has withstood alkl these onslaughts and stands witness to the ancient culture and tradition of the Indian Sub-Continent.

There is a large water tank here too which we perambulated to reach the Banyan Tree. Near the Banyan tree is a marble statue of a Chariot with four horses wherein the images of Krishna and Arjuna are placed, the former imparting divine wisdom and the latter absorbing it with folded arms and rapt attention. This statue has been placed here by H H the Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.

We sat beneath the immortal banyan and meditated on the verses of the Bh. Gita, allowing the vibrations of eons of spiritual wisdom to wash over us like the cold breeze on that late-winter morning.

Onward to Bheeshma Kund in Narkthari Village, Kurukshetra, where the Pitamaha Bheeshma fell on the Tenth day of the war. There he lies on a bed of arrows with a pillow of arrows created by the great warrior Arjun. When Bheeshma wanted water, Arjun directed his arrow consecrated by the mystical formula called Parjanyaaasthra into the earth at the right-side of the Grandsire. Immediately there welled up a jet of nectar-like and fragrant water which fell into Bheeshmas mouth. Legend has it that Mother Ganga flew out of the earth to quench her son’s thirst. The Grandsire quaffed the drink to his hearts content. This spring of water is now a deep tank near the temple.

Kurukshetra is famous not just because it is the location of the great and glorious battle between right and wrong (Dharma and Adharma). It was already a famous place consecrated by Kuru the founder and fore father of both the Pandavas and Kauravas. Kuru had sought and received a boon from Vishnu that anyone who died at Kurukshetra would attain moksh immediately. This is why Dridharashtra selected this place for the war, hoping half-heartedly that the sanctity of the location would reform his erring son.

More importantly, Kurukshetra is the place where two of the greates spiritual  treasures of Hinduism were born. One, of course, is the Bh. Giota which is God speaking to Man. The other is the Vishnu Sahasranaamam or the Thousand Names of Vishnu which is man singing the praise of the One Supreme Being.

Beeshma Kund Shrine

This spot, Bheeshma Kund is the exact spot where Bheeshmachrya responds to Yudhistra’s spiritual query, “ Kim ekam daivatham loke, kin va api ekam Paraayanam..?” i.e. “Who is the Single or Only Deity suited for Human Beings to always meditate upon?” Bheeshma identifies Krishna-Vishnu single, sole Brahman or Causeless Cause that is worthy of praise and prayer. He then identifies the Lord by his One Thousand Names.

At Beeshma Kund

Rajan and I meditated in the shrine that cold wintry morning upon the Vishnu Sahsranaamam as it was played on Rajan’s mobile phone. Then we poured the water from the Narkathari Tirth on our heads and with all respect and reverence made our way out of the Holiest Place. 

Kurukshetra also has a Shakti Peeth. North India has a total of 52 Shakti Peeths. These are places where the body parts of Devi fell when they were cut by Vishnu’s Chakra and thrown about. Kurukshetra is the spot where the right ankle fell. There is a Badrakali temple on this spot. We visited this also.

Badrakali Temple