Hindu pilgrimage Brahma Sarovar is the focal site of this circuit, which can be subdivided into various other itineraries. At least 182 Mahabharta era pilgrimage sites have been identified within the 48 kos parikrama. Within Kurukshetra, along with Brahma Sarovar, other important sites are
Jyotisar (place of
"Gitaupadesha" - the first
Upadeśa or discourse of
Bhagavad Gita by Krishna) and
Sannihit Sarovar (
Hindu genealogy registers of Kurukshetra are kept here). Pilgrims also visit the Bhishama kund, Surya kund and
Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple (where
Pandavas along with
Krishna prayed to
Shiva to receive his blessings for victory in the battle of
Mahabharata) In addition, pilgrims also visit
Pehowa, where the most revered sites are
Saraswati tirtha and
Prithudak tirtha. Pehowa is an ancient city and its religious significance is mentioned in several
puranas, such as
Skanda Purana (1st to 5th century CE),
Markandeya Purana (4th to 6th century CE) and
Vamana Purana (5th to 11th century CE). In
Yamunanagar district,
Kapal Mochan (Kapal Mochan (visited by Rama) and
Sri Sarasvati Udgam Tirath at Adi Badri (place where deified mother goddess
Sarasvati is revered because the sacred
Sarasvati River enters the plains from the foothills of
shivalik range) are also important sacred sites. Many pilgrims like to trace their genealogy going back hundreds of generation, trace prior visits by their ancestors and record their own visit in the
Hindu genealogy registers of Kurukshetra and
Hindu genealogy registers of Pehowa maintained by
Pandas (professional genealogists). ; List of most important sacred sites • Kurukshetra: Brahma Sarovar, Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple, Sannihit Sarovar, Jyotisar,
Hindu genealogy registers of Kurukshetra • Pehowa: Saraswati tirtha and Prithudak tirtha • Yamunanagar district: Kapal Mochan and Adi Badri
Buddhist pilgrimage Buddha had visited Sthaneshwar and gave discourse on the banks of Brahma Sarovar where a
Bodh Stupa was built. •
Assandh Kushan stupa at
Assandh in
Karnal district •
Kurukshetra Stupa on the banks of sacred
Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra city was also visited by
Hieun Tsang, •
Topra between Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar, now has a large open air museum park housing several replica of
Ashoka's edicts including largest
Ashoka Chakra in the world, original site of Ashokan pillar which was moved to
Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi in 1356 CE by
Firuz Shah Tughlaq. •
Srughna, now known as the
Sugh Ancient Mound, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city •
Chaneti Buddhist Stupa, on outskirts of Yamunanagar city, according to
Hieun Tsang it was built by the
King Ashoka.
Sikh pilgrimage Several
Sikh gurus had visited Sthaneshwar, Pehowa and Kapal Mochan for the holy dip. In Kurukshetra,
Sikh pilgrims visit Brahma Sarovar and the
"Gurudawara Pehli Patshai" (just next to
Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple on the south bank of Brahma Sarovar where the ninth Guru
Tegh Bahadur stayed at). Following the trail of Sikh gurus, the pilgrims also visit
Pehowa as well as Kapal Mochan. Kapal Mochan was visited by
Guru Nanak and
Guru Gobind Singh after
Battle of Bhangani in 1688 CE. Other important Sikh pilgrimage sites are
Sadaura,
Lohgarh (capital of
Banda Singh Bahadur) and Badkhalsa in Sonipat (where
Bhai Kushal offered his head to retrieve Guru Teg Bhadur's head beheaded by
mughals so that it can be taken to
Anandpur Sahib}.
Genealogy registers Hindu genealogy registers of Kurukshetra are kept at
Pehowa and
Sannihit Sarovar.
Number of visitors In 2019, over 40 lakh (4 million) people had attended the Gita Mahotsav festival in December. == Tirtha development ==