The ancient Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple, dedicated to Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

is situated in

old Kurukshetra city Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

Kurukshetra district Kurukshetra district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in northern India. The town of Kurukshetra, a sacred place for the Hindus, is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district occupies an area of 1530.00 km² ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

, India. It was here that the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowl ...

along with

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

prayed to

and received his blessings for victory in the battle of

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

. The ninth

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...

, Shri

Tegh Bahadur Tegh ( hy, Տեղ) is a village and the center of the Tegh Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia. Tegh is the last village on the Goris-Stepanakert Highway before passing the border with the Republic of Artsakh. Of significance in the v ...

stayed at a spot near the Sthaneshwar Tirtha that is marked by a

gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) ( Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all fait ...

just besides this temple. This is the place where Lord Mahavishnu and Dadheechi has quarrelled and Dadheechi won the Devathas.

History

The temple called Sthaneshwar is dedicated to

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...

, the presiding deity of the ancient city of Sthaneshwar presently known as Thanesar city or Kurukshetra city. The legends place its antiquity to

period. It is said that Krishna worshiped Lord Shiva Done Abhishekam here along with the

and got the blessing for the victory in the forthcoming battle of Mahabharata.

specially prayed O God “ Maheshwara", I will protect pandavas(Dharma) in any situation, but there are some powerful Astras which I can't "it is also believed that Kauravas consist of deadliest astra which can't be controlled by any one except lord Shiva who is

Mahakaal ''Mahakaal'' (also known as ''Mahakaal: The Monster'') is a 1994 Indian horror film directed by Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay. It was loosely plagiarised off of the American horror film ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) and was also the last ...

pilgrimage to Kurukshetra without visiting this tirtha is supposed to be incomplete and fruitless. Pushpabhuti, the founder of the Vardhana Empire of

Thanesar Thanesar city or old Kurukshetra city is a historic town and an important Hindu pilgrimage centre in Kurukshetra district of the state of Haryana in northern India. It is located in Kurukshetra district, approximately 160 km northwest of D ...

named the capital of his kingdom after Sthaneshwar Shiva. The present temple is said to be constructed by

Sadashivrao Bhau Sadashivrao Bhau Peshwa (3 August 1730 – 14 January 1761) was son of Chimaji Appa (younger brother of Bajirao I) and Rakhmabai (Pethe family) and the nephew of Baji Rao I. He was a finance minister during the reign of Maratha emperor Chhatr ...

, the Commander-in-Chief of

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

forces, to commemorate his victory over

Ahmed Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahma ...

at Kunjpura before the third battle of

Panipat Panipat () is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761 took place near the city. The city is famous in India as the "C ...

Legend

Legend has it that the waters of the tank adjoining the temple are holy. A few drops of water cured the King Ban of leprosy. No pilgrimage of

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Pur ...

is believed to be complete without a visit to this ancient, holy temple. The tank and temple lie a short distance from the

town, which gets its name from this temple. It is also believed that Lord Shiva was first worshipped here in the form of a ''lingam''. The ancestor of the

heroes, Kuru, performed

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a pa ...

on the banks of the

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ba ...

and Parshuram, the great warrior sage killed many

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the co ...

s here.

About the deity

The temple of Sthaneshwar is the abode of Lord Shiva and this town served as the capital of Emperor

Harshavardhana Harshavardhana ( IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajya ...

. The temple with a dome-shaped roof follows a regional type of architecture. The facade of the roof is shaped like an 'amla' along with a tall pinnacle. The ''

Lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotion ...

'' is ancient and still venerated by the local people.

References

External links

*http://Kurukshetra.nic.in
Shri Sthaneshwara Temple
Hindu temples in Haryana Kurukshetra Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Shiva temples in Haryana Mahabharata Tourist attractions in Kurukshetra district {{india-hindu-temple-stub