Kurukshetra: Political and Cultural History

Since times immemorial, Kurukshetra has been revered as a spiritual heaven in all Hindu scriptures. It has been held in high esteem as a great religio-cultural centre, a holy land blessed with divine benediction. Its founder, the King Kuru, was surcharged with a profuse passion to make the body of this region abounding in eight virtues: truthfulness, austerity, forgiveness, compassion, purity, charity, composure (yoga), and continence (brahmacharya). King Kuru’s efforts to create a virtual heaven on earth in Kurukshetra were, however, foiled by an envious Lord Vishnu. The dying King begged of the Lord to name is land as Dharamkshetra where Lord Vishnu alongwith all of His gods stayed for ever to bless and guide the destiny of the people to good deeds and righteousness. His pious wishes were shaped into a consummate reality, and Kurukshetra with its 360 tirthas (holy places) has become a pilgrims’ coveted Paradise. Starting with the delineation of Kurukshetra as a venerable place of pilgrimage of great religio-cultural significance, this study is largely devoted to the exploration and systematic investigation of its socio-political character since prehistoric times to the yester-year of 1976. Covering the march of Kurukshetra history and society through several millennia is a formidable task in itself. The author has put in stupendous efforts in remarkably condensing a vast vista of socio-political history of Kurukshetra into a highly informative monograph. The study is throughout richly documented with the sources that have been scanned and re-examined from a new angle. “As a result, Kurukshetra came to enjoy peace, prosperity and honour, it became a heaven on earth. The combination of manual labour and moral rectitude, physical exertion and spiritual elevation became the essence of this region and through it of the whole country.”