Our religious tourist visit to Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra

How did we reach Kurukshetra?

Me and my wife took the train Kalka Shatabdi from New Delhi at 07:40 A.M. and arrived at Kurukshetra Railway Station by 09:45 A.M. It had rained almost throughout our train journey and it had stopped just in time for us to enjoy our tourist day😊! This is the shortest time in which one can reach Kurukshetra from New Delhi. There are many other trains also; and, one can go by road as well which should take around 3½ to 4 hours from New Delhi.

How did we commute within Kurukshetra?

We had booked a local taxi (Guru Nanak Taxi service, Swift Dezire) on phone from Delhi itself, and our driver was waiting for us outside the Railway Station when we reached there. I told him about the places that we wanted to see, and he drew his plan to optimize the route. Our deal was to pay him INR 1300 at the end of the day (~7 P.M.) The deal that taxi owner offered by default was for 8 hours and 80 KMs. You don’t exceed 80 KMs although you do exceed 8 hours limit; but he was flexible for ½ hour or one-hour extension.

What places did we visit?

Jyotisar:

This was the first place we went to. It is highly important place as it is here that Lord Krishna sang Gita to a wavering Arjuna. There stands a large Banyan tree under which the whole conversation between the Lord and Arjuna took place. This place has large water pond beside the Tree and gives the blowing wind a serene cool. The temple complex also has an old Shiva lingam. They organize a Light and Sound show in the evening which one can enjoy if one can afford to leave Kurukshetra a little late in the evening. Location of Jyotisar is few KMs outside the main Kurukshetra city. In the morning time it cost us about 20 min. to reach Jyotisar from the Railway Station.

ISKCON (Krishna Arjun temple):

From Jyotisar temple complex we went to ISKCON temple situated nearby and is under construction (February 2020). The structure of this temple is going to be in the form of a huge chariot, and that one can see even today. Also, they have made a small temple where dancing deities of Lord Gauranga and Lord Nitai, and smiling deities of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Baldeva are worshipped. My wife got an out of turn ‘Kheer prasadam’ from Pujari ji which he gave so lovingly saying “Jagannath ji has given it for you!”; and, that’s the distinguished characteristic of devotees which make interacting with them memorable! There is a sweet shop, Govinda’s, where one can purchase sweets, snacks, and water. The complex has a gaushala with many cows and one can visit them. There is a ‘hundi’ placed where one can (and one should) donate money for the construction of the temple. If you need receipt, then approach the reception to give your donation to the devotees sitting there.
Situated next to ISKCON is Kalpana Chawla Planetarium; however, we did not visit it.

Narkatari:

From ISKCON we went to Narkatari which is at a short distance and it takes hardly 5 min. from ISKCON.  It is at this place Bheeshma rested on a bed of arrows shot by Arjuna which pierced through his body in his last ever fight in the battlefield of Mahabharata war. Places to see are Bheeshma Kund, Barbarik temple, a huge Hanuman deity, and a temple complex. As per one of the info board it is at this place Arjuna shot one arrow in the ground and Ganga water oozed out for thirsty Bheeshma. It is at this place Bheeshma gave ‘Updesham’ to Pandavas. Bheeshma is regarded as one of the ‘mahajan’ as per Hindu religious scripture Srimad Bhagavatam, and that makes this place a very important one.

Bhadrakali Temple:

From Narkatari we went to Bhadrakali temple. Krishna had suggested Pandavas to take the blessings of Devi Durga before the Mahabharata war; so, at this place Pandavas prayed to Devi Durga and sought her blessings. I observed many tiny horse toys at this temple; however, I could not quite get the story behind it.

Opposite to Bhadrakali temple complex, across the road, there is a huge park named as O P Jindal Park which seemed to be a local attraction, but we did not visit it.

Sthaneshwar Mahadev:

From Bhadrakali temple we went to Sthaneshwar Mahadev temple which is quite near. In fact O P Jindal Park has its other end on the way leading to Sthaneshwar Mahadev temple. It was Mahashivratri day and there were so many people going towards the temple. It was a 10 min. walk from the place our driver dropped us. On both sides of the way there were many makeshift shops of ‘mela’ selling pakoras, sweets, girls’ local jewelry, drinks, and what not. In fact, we saw so many pakora shops one after another that we began to wonder how come people of Kurukshetra are so much into eating pakoras! When we saw one particular lassi like shop crowded by college going boys and girls, my wife asked the seller what is he preparing and his smiling reply was ‘bhole baba ka prasad’, and, then we realized that all these pakoras, sweets, and lassi shops are selling bhang mixed items. We could not dare try them ourselves 😊!  
The way ends at the temple complex of Sthaneshwar Mahadev. It is said that residing deity of Shiva here is ancient and is mentioned in many Hindu scriptures. Pandavas had prayed to Lord Shiva here. The temple complex has a small sarovar (pond) as well which adds to the aura of this place. On the way to this temple there is another Shiva Temple by the name Kaleshwar Mahadev which we totally missed going to☹. It is said that Ravana prayed to Lord shiva at Kaleshwar Mahadev.

Shri Krishna Museum:

From Sthaneshwar Mahadev we went to Krishna Museum. It is a multistory building with a ticket of ~INR 30 per person. Parking also has charges of ~INR 30. This museum has a large collection of stones, sculptures, traditional paintings, scenery, multimedia images, manuscripts etc. related to Lord Krishna. These have been collected from various places of India. One wood and ivory painting showing the deep sorrow and bewilderment of gopis while Krishna and Balrama are being taken to Mathura in a chariot by Akrur is so lively that your heart goes out to those inconsolable gopis. Another one that amused me was a scenery depicting Lord Krishna’s Govardhan Lila where cowherd men are shown pushing their sticks trying to help the ‘small son’ of their fellow cowherd man hold the Govardhan hill on one of his little fingers 😊, gopis are shown amazed, worried and attracted to this young boy at the same time, and his friends are shown glad to witness yet another feat of their ‘friend’, Kanha. The museum also hosts manuscripts of Gita, Chaitanya Charitamrit, and other scriptures. Full family trees of Krishna, Pandavas, and Kauravas have been shown as well. Overall, it is a delight for a museum lover and for Krishna lovers.

Krishna Museum shares its compound with Panorama and Science Center; however, we did not visit it.

----Lunch Break----

Birla Temple:

After lunch we went to see Birla Temple. I have been to other Birla Temples of Delhi, and Jaipur before. This one is a little smaller but same architecture and color scheme. It has many quotes on its walls from scriptures and saints. It’s garden has beautiful flowers and marble chariot sculpture.

Tirupati Balaji Temple:

From Birla Temple we went to Tirupati Balaji temple which is very near Brahma Sarovar. It is well managed very clean complex made of grey stones. Traditional gold colored pillar stands in front of main temple hall. They have placed sign boards requesting to wear Indian traditional dress before going for darshan; however, I was not stopped although I was in jeans. We got traditional rice mixture prasadam.

Banganga (Dayalpur):

From Tirupati Balaji temple we went to Banganga situated in Dayalpur and it took us around 8 min. drive. At this place a Kund is present and the info board says that it is the place where Arjuna shot arrow in the ground to bring Ganga water for thirsty Bheeshma. Same info was also present at Bheeshma kund in Narkatari!

Brahma Sarovar:

This is very important place of Kurukshetra. During solar eclipse it is extremely crowded as lots of devotees come here for taking a dip in its holy water. It is huge in terms of size and very well maintained. It has Shiva temple, Katyayani temple, Draupadi Kup, a large bronze sculpture of Krishna Arjuna chariot et al. Around 6 P.M. they do aarti at the banks of the Sarovar. There are lots of paintings in the inner periphery of the wall of the Sarovar complex. Each painting is carrying a depiction of an event related to Mahabharata or the history of the Sarovar. In one of the paintings they have shown that at the end of the Mahabharata war when Krishna, Arjuna, and Lord Hanuman vacated the chariot it immediately burnt into ashes. Like wise they have many depictions. There are lot many history pieces associated with this Sarovar. It is a must visit place.

Situated at a walkable distance from Brahma Sarovar just outside the complex are Hanuman Temple, and Gaudiya Math (Radha Krishna Milan mandir). There are others but we visited these two only. Radha Krishna Milan temple has a small exhibition which one can enjoy. They have a ticket of ~INR 30. The devotee present at the exhibition told us that after having gone to Mathura and subsequently to Dwarka, Lord Krishna came here with his family, and from Brij, Nand, Yashoda, Radha, and other gopis also came here on a solar eclipse occasion. It is at this temple place that Radha and Krishna met again after many years of separation.

Sannihit Sarovar:

After watching evening aarti at Brahma Sarovar we went to Sannihit Sarovar and by this time of the day it had become a little dark. So, we could not see Sannihit Sarovar in the natural light of the day. Like Brahma Sarovar it has many chapters of history associated with it. At the end of the Mahabharata war Krishna invited all ‘teertha sthala’ into this Sarovar so that everyone can bathe in their holy waters. Situated at the banks of Sannihit Sarovar are Dukh Bhanjan Mahadev, Laxmi Narayan Temple and others. However we could visit only these two. Since it was Mahashivratri there was a good crowd at Dukh Bhanjan Mahadev and we could not have darshan. Laxmi Narayan Temple has many stairs and elder people may need more time here. We got Banana prasadam from a kind elderly lady. I think she belongs to the Pujari ji’s family.

From Sannihit Sarovar we went to Railway Station which is at a 5 min. distance, reached by ~7 P.M., paid and thanked our driver who was very cooperative with us throughout the day.

How much time did we spend in Kurukshetra?

From Railway Station at 09:45 A.M. to Railway Station at 07:00 P.M. This much time is enough for visiting all main religious places located within main Kurukshetra city. If you wish to attend light and sound show at Jyotisar which happens during evening, then, it could be a race against time to catch the Kalka Shatabdi in the evening. We did not plan for this show in our visit.

How did we travel back to New Delhi?

We took Kalka Shatabdi from Kurukshetra Railway station at ~07:45 P.M and reached New Delhi at ~10 P.M.

Where can one find toilet facilities during the day?

Toilets facilities are available at Railway Station, ISKCON, Narkatari temple complex, Krishna Museum complex, Brahma Sarovar complex, Sannihit Sarovar complex.

Where to eat lunch?

I don’t have a suggestion here as I could not find good lunch place. We were looking for food at a place where they don’t use onion and garlic. If you get to know one, please share in comments.

Are there other sightseeing/tourist places?

There are many other tourist places both of religious importance and historical importance. Some examples are: Dharohar Sangrahlaya, Kalpana Chawla Planetarium, Harsh Ka Tila, Sheikh Chilli Tomb, O P Jindal Park etc. 

I hope this blog would help a first time tourist to Kurukshetra! Have a great visit!