Sthaneswari (Savitri Devi)
स्थानेश्वरी शक्तिपीठ (सावित्री)
The Shakti Peetha at Kurukshetra, the Dharmakshetra of the Gita, where the goddess dwells as Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, guarded by the Bhairava Sthanu
Thanesar, Haryana, India
Kurukṣetra (Sthāṇeśvarī / Sāvitrī) ŚaktipīṭhaAlso known as: Sthaneswari Devi, Savitri Shakti Peetha, Sri Devikoop Bhadrakali Temple, Kurukshetra Shakti Peetha
Sthaneswari (Savitri Devi)
स्थानेश्वरी शक्तिपीठ (सावित्री)
युग
An ancient Devi shrine on the sacred field of Kurukshetra, counted among the Shakti Peethas; the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple at Thanesar has been rebuilt across periods on a site of great antiquity
वास्तुकला
A North Indian temple of the goddess at Thanesar, on the ancient site of Sthaneshwar, beside the sacred well of the Devikoop, in the regional idiom
विशेष
The temple keeps the daily worship of the goddess with its rounds of puja and aarti in the pan-Hindu Shakta manner. Timings are set by the temple and vary with the ritual calendar, above all around Navaratri, the Gita Jayanti season and the great bathing days at Kurukshetra; they should be confirmed locally.
पवित्र कथा · पवित्र कथा
Among the Shakti Peethas, the places where the body of Sati is held to have fallen and where the goddess dwells as a Shakti with her guardian Bhairava, is the seat at Kurukshetra, at Thanesar, the ancient Sthaneshwar, in Haryana. Here, the traditional lists hold, a part of Sati's body came to earth, the ankle-bone in the common accounts, and the goddess abides as Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, watched over by the Bhairava Sthanu, a form of Shiva whose very name, Sthanu, the still one, the pillar, is bound to the place-name Sthaneshwar. The story behind all the Shakti Peethas is one: Sati, wife of Shiva and daughter of Daksha, cast her life away at her father's sacrifice when he slighted her lord, and Shiva, mad with grief, carried her body across the worlds in a dance that threatened all creation, until Vishnu's discus cut the corpse away piece by piece, and each place where a part fell became a peetha, a seat of the goddess. The Kurukshetra seat is one such, the goddess present in the ground of the most sacred field of the land. Kurukshetra is the Dharmakshetra, the field of dharma, the setting of the Mahabharata war and of the Bhagavad Gita that Krishna spoke to Arjuna between the armies. The popular identification of the peetha at Thanesar is with the Sri Devikoop Bhadrakali temple, where by tradition Sati's right ankle fell into the sacred well, the Devikoop, and where the Pandavas and Krishna are said to have worshipped the goddess before the great war, seeking her blessing for victory. So the goddess of the seat joins two of the deepest streams of the tradition: the fallen body of Sati and the sanctity of Kurukshetra, the field where dharma was fought for and the Gita was given to the world.
Sacred Designationपवित्र पदनाम
Shakti Peeth
शक्ति: Savitri (worshipped as Sthaneswari; locally identified with Bhadrakali)
भैरव: Sthanu
Sacred Origin Storyपवित्र उत्पत्ति कथा
Source: The Shakti Peetha tradition of the Sati myth, and the Shakta tradition of Kurukshetra
The origin of every Shakti Peetha is the story of Sati and Daksha. Daksha, the great progenitor, held a sacrifice and did not invite his daughter Sati and her husband Shiva, or invited them only to insult Shiva before the assembled gods. Sati, unable to bear the dishonour of her lord, cast off her body in the sacrificial fire, or by her own yogic power. When Shiva learned of it he was consumed with grief and rage; he took up her body and began the tandava, the dance of destruction, carrying her corpse across the worlds, and the shaking of his dance threatened to unmake creation.
To end the danger and to release Shiva from his grief, Vishnu followed with his Sudarshana chakra and cut away the body of Sati piece by piece as Shiva carried it, so that the parts fell to earth across the land. Each place where a part of the goddess fell became a Shakti Peetha, a seat where the goddess is present in the ground, worshipped as a particular Shakti and guarded by a particular form of Shiva as her Bhairava.
At Kurukshetra, at Thanesar, the ancient Sthaneshwar, the traditional lists hold that a part of Sati's body fell, given in the common accounts as the ankle-bone, and the goddess dwells here as Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, with the Bhairava Sthanu, whose name is bound to the place. The popular local identification of the seat is with the Sri Devikoop Bhadrakali temple, where the tradition tells that Sati's right ankle fell into the sacred well, the Devikoop, and where the Pandavas and Krishna are said to have worshipped the goddess before the Mahabharata war, offering their reverence and seeking her grace for victory in the battle for dharma. So the seat at Kurukshetra joins the fallen body of Sati to the sanctity of the Dharmakshetra, the field where the Gita was given. As with all the peethas, the lists vary in their attributions, but the sanctity of the goddess on the sacred field is held to reach back to the falling of the body itself.
उद्धृत स्रोत:
- Shakti Peetha tradition of the Sati myth (Puranic and Tantric lists)
- Shakta tradition of Kurukshetra
- Local tradition of the Sri Devikoop Bhadrakali temple at Thanesar
- Mahabharata tradition of Kurukshetra
अन्य परंपराएँ · अन्य परंपराएँ
The variation of the Shakti Peetha lists
विद्वत संदर्भ
The Shakti Peethas are the network of goddess shrines linked by the myth of the fallen body of Sati, enumerated in a family of Puranic and Tantric lists that vary in number, from a smaller traditional set to the widely cited fifty-one, and in the body parts, Shaktis and Bhairavas assigned to each. They are among the most important frameworks of Shakta pilgrimage, mapping the goddess across the subcontinent as her scattered body. The Kurukshetra seat, at Thanesar, the ancient Sthaneshwar, is one of the peethas of this network, its Shakti commonly given as Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, and its Bhairava as Sthanu, the body part as the ankle-bone. The place-name Sthaneshwar, the lord of the place, and the Bhairava-name Sthanu, the still one, share a root, and the goddess as Sthaneswari is the Shakti of that lord. The popular identification of the peetha is with the Sri Devikoop Bhadrakali temple, an ancient goddess shrine on the sacred field of Kurukshetra, tied by tradition to the Pandavas and Krishna, who are said to have worshipped the goddess before the Mahabharata war. Kurukshetra itself is among the most sacred grounds of the tradition, the Dharmakshetra of the Bhagavad Gita and the field of the Mahabharata war, celebrated in the Vedas and Puranas as a tirtha of great power, with its sacred tanks, above all Brahma Sarovar and Sannihit Sarovar, drawing vast bathing pilgrimages, especially at solar eclipse. Thanesar was also the seat of the Pushyabhuti or Vardhana kings in the early medieval period, the home of the emperor Harsha. As with all the peethas, the attributions vary between the lists, and the tradition of the Shakti Peethas is best understood not as a single fixed scheme but as a family of overlapping enumerations. Eternal Raga presents the commonly cited tradition of the Kurukshetra seat, noting the variation and the local identification with Bhadrakali, and treats the site as an ancient goddess shrine on the most sacred of fields.
Historyइतिहास
The Kurukshetra Shakti Peetha is one of the seats of the goddess linked by the myth of the fallen body of Sati, located at Thanesar, the ancient Sthaneshwar, on the sacred field of Kurukshetra in Haryana. The traditional lists hold that a part of Sati's body fell here, the ankle-bone in the common accounts, and the goddess dwells as Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, with the Bhairava Sthanu, a form of Shiva whose name is bound to the place-name Sthaneshwar. The popular local identification of the seat is with the Sri Devikoop Bhadrakali temple in Thanesar, where the tradition tells that Sati's right ankle fell into the sacred well, the Devikoop.
Kurukshetra is among the most sacred grounds of the tradition, celebrated in the Vedas and Puranas, the Dharmakshetra of the Bhagavad Gita and the field of the Mahabharata war. By tradition the Pandavas and Krishna worshipped the goddess here before the war, seeking her blessing for victory in the battle for dharma, and this association is at the heart of the sanctity of the Devikoop shrine. The town of Thanesar was also the capital of the Pushyabhuti or Vardhana kings in the early medieval period, the home of the emperor Harsha, and it has been a place of goddess worship and of pilgrimage from deep antiquity.
The Devikoop Bhadrakali temple, identified with the peetha, has been rebuilt across the periods on a site of great antiquity, its worship following the pan-Hindu Shakta manner and its calendar marked by the great goddess festivals and by the sacred bathing days of Kurukshetra. The peetha's attributions, like those of all the Shakti Peethas, vary between the traditional lists, but its standing as an ancient seat of the goddess on the field of Kurukshetra is secure in the tradition.
The Kurukshetra seat remains a living Shakta shrine, drawing devotees to the goddess as Sthaneswari and Bhadrakali and pilgrims of the Shakti Peetha tradition who come to the seat where a part of Sati is held to have fallen, together with the vast pilgrimages that gather at Kurukshetra for the great bathing days, above all at solar eclipse, and for the Gita Jayanti season. It joins the sanctity of the Dharmakshetra to the deeper antiquity of the goddess, a place where the Devi has been worshipped, the tradition holds, since the body of Sati came to earth on the field where the Gita was given.
Historical Timelineऐतिहासिक कालक्रम
Kurukshetra is celebrated from the earliest times as a sacred field, a tirtha of great power praised in the Vedas and Puranas, and goddess worship on the field is of deep antiquity.
Kurukshetra is named in the earliest sources as a sacred ground, the Dharmakshetra of later tradition.
By tradition the Pandavas and Krishna worship the goddess at Kurukshetra before the great war, at the site of the Devikoop, seeking her blessing for victory in the battle for dharma.
The worship of the goddess by the Pandavas and Krishna before the war is central to the tradition of the Devikoop Bhadrakali shrine.
In the tradition of the Shakti Peethas, a part of Sati's body, the ankle-bone in the common accounts, falls at Kurukshetra, and the goddess comes to dwell there as Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, with the Bhairava Sthanu.
The body part assigned, commonly the ankle-bone, and the local tradition of the right ankle falling into the Devikoop, vary between the lists of the peethas.
On the field of Kurukshetra, between the arrayed armies, Krishna speaks the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, and the field becomes the Dharmakshetra, the ground of the teaching of dharma, at whose heart the goddess is worshipped.
Thanesar, the ancient Sthaneshwar, becomes the capital of the Pushyabhuti or Vardhana kings, the home of the emperor Harsha, and a flourishing centre of pilgrimage and goddess worship.
Sthaneshwar was the dynastic seat of the Pushyabhutis, from which Harsha ruled much of northern India in the seventh century.
The goddess of Sthaneshwar is worshipped as Sthaneswari, the Shakti Savitri, and as Bhadrakali at the Devikoop, and the site develops as one of the ancient Devi shrines of the region, woven into the Shakti Peetha tradition.
The Devikoop Bhadrakali temple takes shape and is rebuilt across the periods on the ancient site beside the sacred well, as the goddess's worship continues at Thanesar through changing times.
The Shakti Peetha lists, Puranic and Tantric, enumerate the Kurukshetra seat among the seats of the fallen body of Sati, giving its Shakti as Savitri and its Bhairava as Sthanu.
The lists vary in their attributions; Savitri and Sthanu are the commonly cited names for the Kurukshetra seat.
Thanesar, Kurukshetra and the goddess are recorded in colonial-era gazetteers of the Punjab, which note the sacred field, the great bathing pilgrimages and the temple of the goddess at the Devikoop.
The identification of the Kurukshetra seat as a Shakti Peetha is carried in modern Shakta pilgrimage, drawing to the goddess of the Devikoop those who follow the circuit of the seats of the fallen body of Sati, while the great bathing melas of Kurukshetra gather vast crowds, above all at solar eclipse.
The Kurukshetra seat remains a living Shakta shrine, drawing devotees to the goddess as Sthaneswari and Bhadrakali and pilgrims of the Shakti Peetha tradition, with Navaratri, the Gita Jayanti season and the great bathing days marking its year.
The temple fills for Navaratri and for the Gita Jayanti and Kurukshetra Mahotsav, the seat of the fallen body of Sati sharing in the great celebrations of the goddess and of the sacred field, and drawing large numbers.
What You'll Seeदर्शन में
The goddess of the Kurukshetra seat is worshipped as Savitri, the Shakti Sthaneswari of the Shakti Peetha tradition, and at the Devikoop as Bhadrakali, the auspicious and fierce goddess who is loved as protector and mother. As at the other peethas, the deepest object of worship is not only the image but the place itself, the ground where a part of Sati is held to have fallen, so that the goddess is present in the earth of the seat and in the sacred well, the Devikoop.
The Shakti Peetha tradition gives each seat its Shakti and its Bhairava, the goddess and the guardian form of Shiva who watches over the fallen part; here the Shakti is Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, and the Bhairava is Sthanu, whose name, the still one, the pillar, is bound to the place-name Sthaneshwar, so that the goddess and her guardian are woven into the very name of the town. The worship of the goddess is understood within this pairing of the Devi and her Bhairava.
As Bhadrakali the goddess wears the fierce and protective aspect that fits the field of the great war, the goddess whom the Pandavas and Krishna are said to have worshipped before the battle for dharma. The temple stands beside the Devikoop, the sacred well into which the tradition holds the ankle fell, and its iconography joins the sanctity of Kurukshetra to the tradition of the fallen body. The controlling image remains the goddess as the present power of the seat, worshipped as Savitri and Sthaneswari and as Bhadrakali on the field where the Gita was given, watched by her Bhairava Sthanu, in the fierce and maternal form in which the goddess is loved.
Distinctive Practicesविशिष्ट परंपराएँ
Worship of the Goddess at the Fallen Seat
गिरे आसन पर देवी की उपासना
Daily, at the temple
The central worship of the Kurukshetra seat is offered to the goddess Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari and as Bhadrakali at the Devikoop, as the present power of the seat where a part of Sati is held to have fallen, in the pan-Hindu Shakta manner of daily puja, offering and aarti.
In the Shakti Peetha tradition the goddess is present not merely in the image but in the ground, the seat where a part of her body fell, and here also in the sacred well, the Devikoop, so that to worship at Kurukshetra is to worship the Devi in the earth of the most sacred field. The daily puja is offered to a presence held to be truly there, in the seat hallowed by the falling of the body, on the ground where the Gita was given and where the Pandavas and Krishna are said to have worshipped the goddess before the war.
The Reverence of the Shakti and her Bhairava
शक्ति और उनके भैरव की श्रद्धा
In the worship of the peetha
At the Kurukshetra seat, as at the Shakti Peethas, the goddess Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, is revered together with her Bhairava, Sthanu, the guardian form of Shiva who watches over the fallen part, so that the Devi and her Bhairava are held together in the devotion of the seat, their names woven into the name of Sthaneshwar itself.
Each Shakti Peetha holds a Shakti and a Bhairava, the goddess and the form of Shiva who guards her seat, and the pairing expresses the completeness of the tradition: the fallen body of Sati is not abandoned but watched over, the goddess present in the ground and Shiva present as her guardian. At Sthaneshwar the pairing is bound into the place itself, the lord Sthanu and his Shakti Sthaneswari, so that to revere the two together is to worship the seat whole, the two who were parted in the myth held together again at the peetha.
The Offering of Horses at the Devikoop
देवीकूप पर घोड़ों की भेंट
In fulfilment of vows, through the year
A practice particular to the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple is the offering of horses to the goddess in fulfilment of vows, recalling the tradition that the Pandavas offered horses to the goddess before the Mahabharata war. Devotees who have prayed to the goddess and had their wish granted return to offer horses, once living and now most often of clay, silver or gold, in gratitude.
The offering of horses ties the living devotion of the temple to the Mahabharata tradition of the site: as the Pandavas are said to have worshipped the goddess and offered her horses before the battle for dharma, so devotees today offer horses in gratitude for prayers granted. The practice makes the ancient story present in the daily life of the shrine, the devotee's vow and its fulfilment echoing the reverence of the heroes of the great war on the field where the goddess is held to dwell.
Sacred Bathing on the Field of Kurukshetra
कुरुक्षेत्र के क्षेत्र पर पवित्र स्नान
Solar eclipse, Somavati Amavasya and the sacred bathing days
Worship of the goddess at the seat is joined to the great bathing pilgrimages of Kurukshetra, when pilgrims bathe in the sacred tanks, above all Brahma Sarovar and Sannihit Sarovar, and take the darshan of the goddess. The bathing on the day of a solar eclipse is held especially powerful, drawing vast crowds to the field.
Kurukshetra is a tirtha of the greatest power in the tradition, and its sacred tanks are held to wash away sin, above all at the moment of a solar eclipse, when the merit of the bath is said to be immense. To join the bathing to the darshan of the goddess is to bring together two streams of the sanctity of the field, the purifying waters of the tirtha and the presence of the Devi in the seat of the fallen body, so that the pilgrim receives the grace of both the sacred ground and the goddess who dwells in it.
Did You Know?क्या आप जानते हैं?
The Kurukshetra seat is one of the Shakti Peethas, the seats where the body of Sati is held to have fallen, located at Thanesar, the ancient Sthaneshwar, on the sacred field of Kurukshetra.
Shakti Peetha tradition
At Kurukshetra the goddess dwells as Savitri, worshipped as Sthaneswari, with the Bhairava Sthanu, and is locally identified with Bhadrakali at the Devikoop temple.
Shakti Peetha lists; local tradition
The seat lies on the field of Kurukshetra, the Dharmakshetra of the Bhagavad Gita and the ground of the Mahabharata war, joining the fallen body of Sati to the sanctity of the field where the Gita was given.
Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita tradition
By tradition the Pandavas and Krishna worshipped the goddess at the Devikoop before the Mahabharata war, seeking her blessing for victory in the battle for dharma.
Local tradition of the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple
At the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple devotees offer horses in fulfilment of vows, recalling the tradition that the Pandavas offered horses to the goddess before the great war.
Local tradition of the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple
The place-name Sthaneshwar and the Bhairava-name Sthanu, the still one or pillar, share a root, so that the goddess as Sthaneswari is the Shakti of the lord whose name the town bears.
Shakta tradition of Kurukshetra
The body part assigned to the Kurukshetra seat, commonly the ankle-bone, and the local tradition of the right ankle falling into the Devikoop well, vary between the traditional lists of the peethas.
Puranic and Tantric lists of the Shakti Peethas
Thanesar, the ancient Sthaneshwar, was the capital of the Pushyabhuti or Vardhana kings and the home of the emperor Harsha, a great centre of pilgrimage and goddess worship.
Early medieval records of Sthaneshwar
The sacred tanks of Kurukshetra, above all Brahma Sarovar and Sannihit Sarovar, draw vast bathing pilgrimages, the bath at solar eclipse held especially powerful, and pilgrims join the bathing to the darshan of the goddess.
Tradition of the sacred tanks of Kurukshetra
Visitor Accessप्रवेश जानकारी
The temple is open to devotees, and traditional dress and conduct are expected as at a working Shakta shrine. Footwear is removed at the temple. The goddess at Kurukshetra is worshipped in the pan-Hindu Shakta manner, and the year is marked by the great goddess festivals, above all Navaratri, and by the Gita Jayanti season and the sacred bathing days of Kurukshetra, when the field draws large numbers. On ordinary days the darshan is unhurried. Thanesar and Kurukshetra are easily reached from Delhi and Chandigarh by road and rail, and the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple is in Thanesar. Timings are set by the temple and vary with the ritual calendar; confirm current arrangements locally, especially around Navaratri, the eclipse bathing days and the Gita Mahotsav.
Thanesar and Kurukshetra are easily reached from Delhi and Chandigarh by road and rail, and the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple is in Thanesar. Dress traditionally and remove footwear at the temple. Come on an ordinary day for an unhurried darshan, or during Navaratri, the Gita Jayanti Mahotsav or the eclipse bathing days for the fuller intensity of the worship, when the crowds are very large. Pilgrims following the Shakti Peetha circuit take the Kurukshetra seat as one of the seats of the fallen body of Sati; those visiting can also take in the wider sacred landscape of Kurukshetra, the tanks of Brahma Sarovar and Sannihit Sarovar, the Jyotisar where the Gita is held to have been given, and the many tirthas of the field. Confirm the temple's timings and the festival and bathing calendar locally before visiting.
Festivalsत्योहार
Sharada Navaratri and Durga Puja
शारदा नवरात्रि और दुर्गा पूजा
Sep-Oct (Ashwin)
The great autumn festival of the goddess, observed at the Kurukshetra seat with the worship of the Devi over its nine nights, when the seat of the fallen body of Sati shares in the region's celebration of the goddess in her many forms.
Chaitra Navaratri
चैत्र नवरात्रि
Mar-Apr (Chaitra)
The spring Navaratri, the second of the year's great goddess festivals, observed at the seat with nine nights of the Devi's worship, drawing devotees to the goddess as Sthaneswari and Bhadrakali.
Gita Jayanti and the Kurukshetra Mahotsav
गीता जयंती और कुरुक्षेत्र महोत्सव
Nov-Dec (Margashirsha Shukla Ekadashi)
The celebration of the day the Bhagavad Gita is held to have been given on the field of Kurukshetra, marked by the great Gita Jayanti and Kurukshetra Mahotsav, when the sacred field fills with pilgrims and the goddess of the seat shares in the celebration of the Dharmakshetra.
Somavati Amavasya and Solar-Eclipse Bathing
सोमवती अमावस्या और सूर्यग्रहण स्नान
On the sacred bathing days
The great bathing days at Kurukshetra, above all Somavati Amavasya, the new moon falling on a Monday, and the day of a solar eclipse, when vast crowds bathe in the sacred tanks of Brahma Sarovar and Sannihit Sarovar and take the darshan of the goddess, the bath held of immense merit on the sacred field.
Traditional Offeringsपारंपरिक अर्पण
प्राथमिक अर्पण
Red flowers and garlands
लाल पुष्प और मालाएँ
Red flowers and garlands are offered to the goddess in the Shakta manner, the red read as the colour of the Devi's power and life, and dear to the goddess in her auspicious and fierce forms as Sthaneswari and Bhadrakali.
Sindoor (vermilion) and chunari
सिंदूर और चुनरी
Sindoor, the vermilion of the goddess, and the red chunari, the cloth offered to the Devi, are given at the seat, marking the goddess as the auspicious and life-giving power; the sindoor is received back by devotees as her blessing.
Prasad and naivedya
प्रसाद और नैवेद्य
Sweets, fruit and cooked food offered to the goddess as naivedya and shared as prasad are central to the worship, the Devi fed and her prasad received by the devotees as her grace made tangible.
Lamps, incense and the goddess's stotras
दीप, धूप और देवी के स्तोत्र
Lamps and incense are offered in the daily worship, and the recitation of the goddess's stotras, above all the Devi Mahatmya and the Mahishasura Mardini Stotram, is held a high offering, the Devi worshipped in sung praise as in flower and food.
Chunari, bangles and the adornment of the goddess
चुनरी, चूड़ियाँ और देवी का शृंगार
A red chunari and the articles of a married woman's adornment, bangles, sindoor and the rest, are offered to the goddess as to a living mother and queen, the Devi dressed and adorned by her devotees and her worn cloth received as a blessing.
इस मंदिर की विशेषता
The Offering of Horses in Fulfilment of Vows
मन्नत की पूर्ति में घोड़ों की भेंट
What is particular to the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple is the offering of horses to the goddess, once living and now most often of clay, silver or gold, made in fulfilment of vows. The practice recalls the tradition that the Pandavas offered horses to the goddess before the Mahabharata war, seeking her blessing for victory in the battle for dharma. A devotee who has prayed to the goddess and had the wish granted returns to offer a horse in gratitude, so that the temple gathers the offered horses as the visible tokens of prayers fulfilled. The offering ties the living devotion of the shrine to the ancient story of the field: as the heroes of the great war are said to have worshipped the goddess here and offered her horses, so the devotee today offers a horse at the seat where the goddess is held to dwell, the vow and its fulfilment echoing the reverence of the Pandavas on the eve of the war.
Offerings at the Kurukshetra seat follow the pan-Hindu Shakta tradition, with red flowers, sindoor, chunari, prasad and the goddess's stotras central, made at the seat of the fallen body of Sati, and with the particular offering of horses at the Devikoop. Eternal Raga presents these practices as a devotional tradition; specific arrangements should be confirmed at the temple.
How to Reachकैसे पहुँचें
Thanesar lies in Kurukshetra district of Haryana, on the sacred field of Kurukshetra, and is easily reached from Delhi and Chandigarh.
By air: Chandigarh airport is about 90 km away and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport about 170 km, the nearest airports, from which Thanesar is reached by road or rail.
By rail: Kurukshetra Junction, on the main Delhi-Ambala line, is a few kilometres from the temple and is well connected to Delhi, Chandigarh, Ambala and the wider network.
By road: Kurukshetra lies close to the Grand Trunk Road and the Delhi-Chandigarh highway, and is served by buses and taxis; the Devikoop Bhadrakali temple is in Thanesar, within easy reach of the town's other tirthas.
Pilgrims following the Shakti Peetha circuit take the Kurukshetra seat as one of the seats of the fallen body of Sati, and it is easily combined with a visit to the wider sacred landscape of Kurukshetra, the sacred tanks and the many tirthas of the field, and with the North Indian Devi shrines of the region.
Plan Your Visitयात्रा की योजना
🌤 सर्वोत्तम मौसम
October to March is the most comfortable time to visit, with milder temperatures on the plain of Haryana. The autumn Navaratri, in September or October, the Gita Jayanti and Kurukshetra Mahotsav in November or December, and the great bathing days through the year are the most vivid, though also the busiest, times at the field. April to June is hot on the northern plain, and the monsoon, roughly July to September, brings rain to the region. The post-monsoon and winter months, coinciding with the great festivals and the pleasant season, are the best time both for the weather and for the fullness of the worship. Mornings and evenings, around the temple's puja and aarti, are the most atmospheric times for darshan.
👘 पहनावे का नियम
Traditional and modest dress is expected at the temple, as at a working Shakta shrine. Footwear is removed at the temple. Simple respectful attire is appropriate for the goddess's worship.
📱 फोन और फोटोग्राफी
Photography is generally restricted within the sanctum; follow the posted rules and the directions of the temple, and keep phones silenced within the shrine.
🏨 आवास
Kurukshetra and Thanesar have accommodation for pilgrims and visitors, including dharamshalas and hotels, and the cities of Chandigarh and Delhi, within easy reach by road and rail, offer a full range of hotels for those who prefer to stay there and visit. Ambala, close by, also has accommodation. Demand rises around Navaratri, the Gita Jayanti Mahotsav and the great bathing days, above all at solar eclipse, when the field fills with vast crowds, and booking ahead is advisable at those times.
Sacred Soundsपवित्र ध्वनि
क्या आप जानते हैं? · Did You Know?
वही अनुवाद त्रुटि जिसने हिन्दू धर्म में '33 कोटि' को '33 करोड़' बनाया, बौद्ध धर्म में भी हुई। बौद्ध ग्रन्थों के चीनी अनुवाद ने 'सप्त कोटि बुद्ध' (7 श्रेष्ठ बुद्ध) का अनुवाद '7 करोड़ बुद्ध' कर दिया। तिब्बती अनुवाद ने सही किया: 7 प्रकार, 7 करोड़ नहीं। एक संस्कृत शब्द, दो प्रमुख विश्व धर्मों में गलत पढ़ा गया, ने दो एकसमान भ्रम स्वतन्त्र रूप से उत्पन्न किए।
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