The Mahabharata war was fought in Kurukshetra, but where was KurukshetraIJ Was it actually where the present Kurukshetra is locatedIJ Though many have worked on the location of places in the epics, they do not seem to have challenged the location of Kurukshetra.
It should be noted that Kurukshetra merely means ‘the field of the Kurus’. Surely then, it could have been any area within Kuru territoryIJ Or were there many different areas called KurukshetraIJ In the Mahabharata, there are conflicting statements on its location. Some passages locate it to the west of the Yamuna, in the present region of districts Kurukshetra and Karnal in Haryana, but other statements actually place Kurukshetra, and particularly the site of the battle, near Hastinapura. Here we present some of the various statements in the Mahabharata. It says that Kurukshetra lay to the south of the Sarasvati and to the north of the Drishadvati rivers. These rivers are generally identified with the Ghaggar and Chautang in the present Haryana region. Kurukshetra was also called Samanta-panchaka, because of the five lakes here created by Rama Jamadagnya (later known as Parashurama), after killing all the Kshatriyas. Chitrangada fought a battle against a gandharva at Kurukshetra on the river Sarasvati, lasting three years. All these statements correspond with its identification with the present Kurukshetra.
It is when we come to the actual battle, the great war, that things get confusing. The Pandavas at this time had their capital at Indraprastha, believed to correspond with the site of Purana Qila in New Delhi. The Kauravas were at Hastinapura, identified with a place of the same name, located in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, to the east of Indraprastha/Purana Qila.
When the two groups decided to fight, logic tells us they would march towards each other, with the battle taking place somewhere between Indraprastha and Hastinapura. Why would the Pandavas march to the north, and the Kauravas to the north-west, even crossing the Yamuna riverIJ After the battle was over, the Pandavas occupied Hastinapura. Also, after the battle Bhishma lay on the banks of the river Oghavati, which is generally identified with a river near the Drishadvati. On the other hand, in several passages the Pandavas are said to have visited Bhishma while he lay on his bed of arrows on this river, and then returned to Hastinapura at night. Certainly they could not have returned from the present Kurukshetra within a day.
A different passage even states that Bhishma lay on the banks of the Ganga, and that it was from here that the Pandavas returned every night to Hastinapura. An old river bed, known as the Burhi Ganga, actually passes near Hastinapura. Another indication of a different location for Kurukshetra is a reference to Takshaka, the Naga king, who is said to have lived there on the banks of the river Ikshumati. The Ikshumati has been identified with the Kali Nadi, which joins the Hindon river in Baghpat district, not far from Hastinapura. Takshaka is also said to have lived in Kurukshetra and Khandava. Khandavaprastha, was of course, the forest located near Indraprastha.
Apart from Kurukshetra, Kurujangala is mentioned as a region, the country of the Kurus, and it is said that there were many armies here. Kunti, the text states, reached Kurujangala, and then presented herself at the gates of Hastinapura. Thus Kurujangala was the region around Hastinapura. It is certainly possible that a battlefield in this region came to be known as Kurukshetra.
The Mahabharata is not a purely historical text, including in it myths, legends and imaginary descriptions. Yet historians have tried to glean aspects of history from it, among whom BB lal was a forerunner, and who based his work on the identification of places.
He suggested that the main period of the Mahabharata and its war corresponded with the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture. PGW, a fine grey pottery with black painting is found at both Purana Qila and Hastinapura and many other sites both in this region and across the Yamuna in Haryana. This PGW culture can be broadly dated between 1200 BCE and 400 BCE, and is marked by fairly simple structures and crafts, along with agriculture accompanied by pastoralism.
Others have placed the Mahabharata War much earlier, a few years before 3102 BCE, the traditional date of the start of the Kali Yuga. Archaeologically there is no evidence for such an early occupation of Indraprastha and Hastinapura. And much of the text, such as the grand descriptions of Indraprastha, designed and constructed by the great Asura architect Maya, has no correspondence with any archaeological culture. Thus using the epics to try and understand the past certainly has its difficulties. The Mahabharata may refer to many different early periods, though its composition is said to be later, with additions made from c.400 BCE- CE 400. Even so, it seems most likely that the Kurukshetra that served as the battlefield for the great war, whenever it took place, was somewhere between Delhi and Meerut.
(A PhD in ancient Indian History, the writer lives in Dehradun and has authored ten books)
