Kurukshetra

AREA

The district has an area of 1682.53 Sq.Kms. constituting 3.8% of the total area of the State. Total area under cultivation is 168000 hect. Out of this, 147000 hect. is net irrigated area.


LOCATION



Kurukshetra district lies between latitude 29o-52' to 30o- 12' and longitude 76o-26' to 77o-04' in the North Eastern part of Haryana State. The district headquarter is located at Kurukshetra town and is about 160 Kilometers North of Delhi, 39 Kilometers North of Karnal and 40 Kilometers South of Ambala. It is at a distance of about 6 kilometer from Pipli an important road junction on the National Highway No.1 popularly called the Grand Trunk Road.



Kurukshetra Railway Station, also called the Kurukshetra Junction, is located on main Delhi-Ambala Railway line. The other important towns of the district are Pehowa, Shahbad & Ladwa. The district consists of 419 villages.



GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES



On the whole, the district is a plain which slopes from North East to South and South West. The plain is remarkable flat and within it, are the narrow low-lying flood plains, known as either Betre Khadar of Naili. Saraswati, Markanda and Ghaggar are the important rivers of the district. A good network of canals is providing irrigational facilities. Underground water level is not relatively high. Tubewell irrigation is also common in the district. It is one of the prosperous district from agriculture point of view. The soil is generally alluvial, loam and clay does not constitute average texture of the soil.



CLIMATE


The climate of the district is of pronounced character i.e. very hot in Summer and markedly cold in winter. It is as high as 45 degree C in summer and as low as 3 degree C in winter.



HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND


Kurukshetra is a place of great historical and religious importance, revered all over the country for its sacred associations. It was here that the battle of Mahabharta was fought and Lord Krishna preached his Philosophy of "KARMA" as enshrined in the Holy Geeta to Arjuna at Jyotisar. In the very first verse of Bhagwat Gita, Kurukshetra is described as DHARAMKSHETRA i.e. field of righteousness. Mythologically, the name Kurukshetra applied to a circuit of about 48 KOS or about 80 miles (128 Kms) which includes a large number of holy places, temples and tanks connected with the ancient Indian traditions and the Mahabharata War and Kururu, the pious ancestor of Kaurvas and Pandavas.