Introduction
Thanesar was an obscure village until the 1950s. After the partition of India, a large refugee camp was set up here, which became the nucleus of a bustling commercial city. It grew so much that in 23rd January, 1973, a new district named Kurukshetra district was created, of which Thanesar was the main town. Now Thanesar is a Municipal Council. People now tend, erroneously, to refer to Thanesar town as "Kurukshetra".
Mythological importance
The new district was named Kurukshetra in order to capitalize on the purported mythological significance of the area. According to the epic Mahabharata, Krishna along with his family came from Dwaraka to participate in the fair of solar eclipse at Kurukshetra. It is believed that the Mughal Emperor Akbar, accompanied by his court historian Abul Fazl, too visited Kurukshetra during the Solar Eclipse in 1567. Abul Fazl’s Akbarnama refers to the eclipse in Kurukshetra and the Pilgrims bathing in the Brahma Sarovar. The French traveler François Bernier of the Mughal Emperor Shahjehan’s era also mentions the sacred baths at the Indus, Ganges and the sacred tanks of Thaneshwar (Kurukshetra) on the occasion of the Solar Eclipse.
Historians are also investigating this city's link with the Indus Civilisation. They are also looking into the possibility that the Ghaggar river is actually the famous Saraswati river of the Vedas.
Religious and historical importance
Thanesar derives its name from the words "Sthaneshwar" which means "Place of God". The Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple, whose presiding deity is Lord Shiva, is believed to be the oldest temple in the vicinity. Kaleshwar Mahadev Temple & Dukha Bhanjan Mahadev Temples are also the oldest temples of Thanesar. Other religious
