Kurukshetra

History

Kuru kingdom, founded by King Puru—the ancestors of Kauravas and Pandavas Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE), developed into the first recorded state-level society (janapada) in the Indian subcontinent. This kingdom documented their ritual hymns into collections called the Vedas, and developed new rituals which gained their position in Indian civilization as the Srauta rituals, which contributed to the "classical synthesis" or Hindu synthesis (roots of Hinduism). It was the dominant political and cultural center of the middle Vedic Period during the reigns of Parikshit and Janamejaya, but declined in importance during the late Vedic period (c. 900 – c. 500 BCE) and had become "something of a backwater" by the Mahajanapada period in the 5th century BCE. Traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for the Mahabharata epic. The time-frame and geographical extent of the Kuru kingdom (as determined by philological study of the Vedic literature) corresponds with the archaeological Painted Grey Ware culture. Kurukshetra was conquered by the Mauryan empire in the late 4th century BCE and subsequently became a center of Buddhism and Hinduism. The history of Kurukshetra is little-known in between the collapse of the Mauryans and the rise of the Kushans who conquered the region. After the decline of Kushan power in the region, Kurukshetra became independent only to become conquered by the Gupta empire in the early 4th century CE. Under Gupta rule, Kurukshetra experienced a cultural and religious revival and became a center for Hinduism. After the fall of the Gupta, the Pushyabhuti dynasty ruled over Kurukshetra. Kurukshetra reached the zenith of its progress during the reign of King…

Geography

Kuruksetra is located at around 30° North and 77° East. Kurukshetra city is surrounded by Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar to the northwest, Ambala, Chandigarh, Shimla to the north, Yamuna Nagar, Jagadhri, Dehradun to the northeast, Pehowa, Cheeka, Mansa to the west, Ladwa, Saharanpur, Roorkee to the east, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar to the southwest, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, New Delhi to the south, and Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut to the southeast. The climate of the district varies as the temperature in summer reaches as high as , and as low in winter, with rains in July and August.

Most-observed species

• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  74
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  56
• Rose-ringed Parakeet

  Psittacula krameri (Scopoli, 1769) · Aves
  55
• Red-wattled Lapwing

  Vanellus indicus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  51
• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  42
• Jungle Babbler

  Turdoides striata (Dumont, 1823) · Aves
  35
• Indian Gray Hornbill

  Ocyceros birostris (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  33
• Rufous Treepie

  Dendrocitta vagabunda (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  31

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2020-05-29
  Uttar Pradesh, India
• M 4 — 2019-02-20
  4 km ENE of K?ndhla, India
• M 4.5 — 2018-07-01
  13 km NW of Son?pat, India
• M 4.6 — 2014-02-21
  18 km ESE of Dirba, India
• M 3.8 — 2008-08-16
  18 km NNE of Chhutmalpur, India
• M 3.7 — 2004-11-26
  15 km NW of N?han, India