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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.
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| Beeshma Kund Shrine |
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| At Beeshma Kund |
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.
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| Badrakali Temple |
