Sirsa, Haryana

Sirsa is a city in Sirsa district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is a town in the westernmost region of the state, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. Its history dates back to the time of Mahabharata. At one time, the Sarasvati River flowed in this area.

Sirsa is said to be one of the oldest places of North India and its ancient name was Sairishaka, which finds mention in Mahabharata, Panini's Ashatadhayayi and Divyavadan. In Mahabharata, Sairishaka is described as being taken by Nakula in his conquest of the western quarter. It was a flourishing city in the 5th century BC, as it has been mentioned by Panini.

Sirsa seems to be in the administrative division of Hisar Feroza during Firuz Shah's reign. In the time of Akbar, Sirsa was one of the dasturs of Hisar Feroza Sarkar and much of its area lying in the present Sirsa district was covered by Mahals of Fatehabad, Bhattu, Bhangiwal (Darba), Sirsa, Bhatner (or Hanumangarh, Rajasthan) and Paniyana (Rajasthan). With the decline of the Mughal Empire, the track comprising Sirsa district came under the control of Marathas. The whole of Delhi Territory of which the tract formed part was ceded by the Marathas to the British in 1810. Sirsa was part of the outlying district of Delhi territory under the charge of an Assistant to the Resident. In 1819, the Delhi territory was divided into three districts - the Central which included Delhi, The Southern including Rewari, and the North-Western including Panipat, Hansi, Hisar, Sirsa and Rohta. In 1820, the latter was again sub-divided into Northern and Western and Sirsa along with Hansi, Hisar and Bhiwani formed Western district (Haryana district and later known Hisar district).

In 1837, Sirsa and Rania parganas were taken out of Haryana district and along with Guda and Malaut parganas were formed into a separate district called Bhattiana. The pargana of Darba from Hisar district and the small pargana of Rori confiscated from erstwhile princely state of Nabha were transferred to Bhattiana in 1838 and 1847 respectively. In 1844, Wattu pargana running up to Satluj was added in the Bhattiana district. The whole of the Delhi territory along with district of Bhattiana and Hisar was transferred to Punjab in 1858 and the district of Bhattiana was renamed as Sirsa.

In 1861, 42 villages of Tibi tract of Rania pargana were transferred to the then state of Bikaner.

The Sirsa district which comprised three tahsils of Sirsa, Dabwali and Fazilka was abolished in 1884 and Sirsa tahsil (consisting of 199 Villages) and 126 villages of Dabwali tahsil formed one tahsil and the same was merged in the Hisar district and the rest of the portion was transferred to the Firozpur district (Punjab). There was no change till the Independence of the country except that a village was transferred from Sirsa tahsil to the then state of Bikaner in 1906.

The entire area of the district was included in the new state of Haryana on November 1, 1966. In 1968, Sirsa tahsil was bifurcated into Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils. In 1974, three villages of Dabwali tahsil were transferred to Sirsa tahsil. On September 1, 1975, Sirsa and Dabwali tahsils were constituted into a separate Sirsa district with headquarters at Sirsa.

The archaeological Survey of India, during the archaeological exploration of the Ghaggar valley in Sirsa District in 1967-1968, nearly 54 sites, yielding the painted grey, black and Red, Black Slipped, Grey and Red wares and those belonging to Rang Mahal Culture were discovered. No Harappan settlement, however, could be located. Sites yielding Rang Mahal Pottery were found to be situated in close proximity of the Ghaggar.

Among the painted grey ware settlement, a mound locally called Lahranwali Theri near Rania deserves special mention. The painted grey ware types found here mainly comprised dishes and bowls. Pottery of the later periods was also collected from this site.

Besides, two mounds at Sikanderpur from where stone slabs having marks of Iron dowels were found can be ascribed to Rang Mahal Culture. A few more archaeological sites were identified in the district. The more important one's are described below :-

Arnian wali (Tehsil Sirsa) : It is situated 8 km South of Sirsa on Sirsa Bhadra Road. A mound measuring nearly 4 Acres and approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) high lies 400 meters north of the village. It has yielded fragments of pottery of early history and medieval times. Sikander Pur (Tehsil Sirsa) : Located about 12 km East of Sirsa, the village is approached by a link Road from Sirsa - Fatehabad Road. The site, which has two mounds, one km apart, is located about 1.6 km North-East of the villages and is nearly 30 feet (9.1 m) high. Heavy Stone Slabs and a sculpture of Indra, specimens of a temple of early medieval times were found from the site. A sculpture of an "Ekmukha Linga" of Shiva belonging to early medieval times has also been discovered. The specimen represents Shiva both in his human as well as Phallic form. A Sculpture of Indra recovered from the site is fine specimen representing two armed Indra as Dikpala. Another sculpture of Indra with his consort belonging to the early medieval times has also been found. The site has also yielded Rang Mahal and medieval wares.

Suchan (Tehsil Sirsa) : Located about 16 km east of Sirsa, the site has yielded fragments of Pottery of Rang Mahal and early medieval wares.

Mangiana (Tehsil Dabwali) : It is located about 13 km East of Dabwali on Kalanwali-Dabwali Road. The mount, located about a km West of the village, is 15 feet (4.6 m) high. It has yielded fragments of early historic and medieval wares.

Places to see:

Dera Jiwan Nagar 

Dera Baba Sarsai Nath

Gurudwara Guru Gobind Singh, Chormar Khera

Hanuman Temple

Jama Masjid

Dera Sufi Saint Baba Bhuman

Shri Pancheshwari Dham, Khairpur

Ram Dev Mandir 

Saint Baba Bihari Samadhi 

Tomb of Khwaja Pir...........
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Jind, Haryana

Jind is a town in Jind District, Haryana state, India., transferred to Haryana from punjab state. It is one of the oldest districts of Haryana. It is one of the first Sikh Kingdoms. It lies in central Haryana and is the fourth district of the Jat belt (i.e. Sonipat, Rohtak, Hissar, Jind).The city is beautiful. Rani Talab is the major tourist place Pandu-Pindara and Ramrai are the main devotional places attracting devotees for Amaavas bath.

Places to see:

Jind is the city that can amuse you with its unique attractions. It offers a number of interesting places like religious and historical sites, that add spice to your Jind tour. Every monument, garden and amusement park holds important relevance in the Jind history. 

The major attractions of Jind are its gardens, monuments and holy places. Gardens like Jayanti Devi Park, Herbal Park and Nehru Park are quite popular amongst tourists. And places like Rani Talab, Somnath Mandir, Sawarag Ashram are must on Jind itinerary.

Jayanti Devi Mandir

Manji Sahib

Kalash Mandir

Sahaid Samarak

Rani Talab

Swarg Ashram...........

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sonipat, Haryana

Sonipat, also spelled as Sonepat, is an ancient town and a municipal council in Sonipat district in the state of Haryana, India.It comes under National Capital Region and is 45 km north of Delhi. It is believed that it was founded as Swarnaprastha by the five Pandava brothers during the times of Mahabharata. Another legend ascribed it to Raja Soni, the thirteenth descendent of Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers. Sonepat comprises 3 sub-divisions namely Ganaur, Sonepat and Gohana and seven blocks (Ganaur, Sonipat, Rai, Kharkhoda, Gohana, Kathura and Mundlana) has been carved out of Rohtak and made a full fledged district on 22 December 1972. Sonipat is the largest tehsil followed by Gohana.

Sonipat was earlier known as Sonprastha, which later on became Swarnprastha, meaning the "Golden City": derived from two Sanskrit words, Swarn (Gold) and Prastha (Place).  Over a period of time, the classical name Swarnprasth's pronunciation degraded into Swarnpath, and then to its current form, Sonipat.

Yamuna River

The river flows besides the rural belt of the city with its holy waters which turn into a Black Nullah after entering the National Capital Delhi. It also acts as a natural boundary also between state of Haryana and the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Mughal Buildings

At the outskirts of the city one can enjoy the site of Mughal Buildings which lie unprotected. Among them is the Mosque of Abdullah Nasir-ud-din, who was a descendant from Mushid of Iran.

Kijjar makkbara


In sonipat kijjar makkbara is the most beutiful garden having very rich historik ledend one came in sonipat must see this. It is reserved haritage and open for public whole year its is very beautiful with green grass and beautiful plants. It is situated in outer of the city in village jatwada.

Baba dham


In sonipat baba dham is the main attractive religious temple it is a religious status symbol of sonipat it is very neet and clean temple having many small temples in it, and also having sani mandir, sai mandir, radha kirshan mandir, shiv mandir and many more. This temple is built in outer of sonipat near kami-bhuri road............
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Panipat, Haryana

Panipat is an ancient and historic city in Panipat district, Haryana state, India. It is 90 km north from Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh. Three battles fought at the city were turning points in Indian history. The city is famous in India by the name of "City of Weaver".

Panipat was one of the five cities (prasthas) founded by the Pandava brothers during the times of the Mahabharata; its historic name being Panduprastha. Panipat was the scene of three pivotal battles in Indian history.

The main places of attraction are "Panipat Battles Museum", Hemu 'Samadhi-sthal' and camp site of Babur and Akbar at village Sodhapur, the grave of Ibrahim Lodhi, Kabuli Bagh, Devi Mandir, Kala Amb,Salar Gunj Gate, and the tomb of the thirteenth century sufi saint Bu Ali Shah Qalandar.

Panipat Museum

The Battle of Panipat Memorial society set-up by the Government of Haryana, highlights the major events that took place for over two hundred years which made Panipat a place of great historical importance.

Grave of Ibrahim Lodhi

The tomb is situated near a Tehsil Office at Panipat. Ibrahim Lodhi fought fiercely with his uncle Babur, in the battle known to us today as the "First Battle of Panipat" and was slain and buried at this place. It was one of Sher Shah Suri’s dying regret that he could never fulfill his intention of erecting a tomb to the fallem monarch. Much later, the British erected a plain plateform over the place, with a short Urdu Insscription on it.

Hemu's Samadhi Sthal

Panipat War II

After Hemu's beheading at the Camp of Akbar at Saundhapur on Jind Road at Panipat, his head was sent to Kabul to be hanged outside the 'Delhi Darwaza' and his torso was hanged on a gibbet outside Purana Quila in Delhi to terrorise locals. After few years Hemu's supporters, constructed a Samadhi over the place where he was beheaded. The place and its surroundings are slowly encroached upon by local people. This is the only memorial of Hemu in Panipat, but in bad condition.

Kabuli Bagh

The garden of Kabuli Bagh along with a mosque and a tank was built by Babur after the First battle to commemorate his victory over Ibrahim Lodhi. Some years later when Humayun defeated Saleem Shah near Panipat, he added a masonry Platform to it and called it ‘Chabutra" Fateh Mubarak, bearing the inspription 934 Hijri (A.D.1557). These buildings and the garden still exist under the name of Kabuli Bagh called so after Babur’s wife – Mussammat Kabuli begum.

Devi Temple

A temple dedicated to local deity exists on the bank of a large tank. A Shiva temple believed to have been built by a Maratha named Mangal Raghunath who had remained in Panipat after the battle, also exists besides it.

Kala Amb

According to the tradition, the site 8 Kilometers from Panipat and 42 Kilometers from Karnal, where Sadashiv Rao Bhau commanded his maratha forces during the third battle of Panipat was marked by a black Mango Tree (Kala Amb) which has since disappeared. The dark colour of its foliage was probably the origin of the name. The site has a brick Pillar with an iron rod and the structure is surrounded by an iron fence.The site is being developed and beautified by a society with Governor, Haryana as its President.

The countryside is no less famous than the city of Panipat remnants of various buildings and structure along with galical and archaeological interest.

Salar Jung Gate

This gate is situated in the middle of Panipat city historical importance to Nawab Salar Juge, The gate still denoting its archaeological interest .

Tomb of Bu-Ali Shah Kalandar

Seven hundred years old this tomb is known as Dargah of Shah Kalandar Khizar Khan son of allau-din Khilji who got this tomb constructed. Bu-Ali-Shah kalander was born in 1190 A.D. His father’s name was Salar Fakirudin. There are tombs of Hakim Mukaram Khan and Khawaja Altaf Hussain Hali in the premises of this tomb. Hali was a great Urdu poet. A large number of people from all walks of life, Hindu, Muslims, Sikh and Christians visit the tomb of Shah Kalandar and offer prayers here on every Thursday.

Shri Ram Sharnam

Shri Ram Sharnam stands as an emblem of supreme devotion to Shri Ram and Selfless service of humanity in the war : ravaged historical city of Panipat. The grace and dignity of its congregation halls and its atmosphere suffused with piety and devotion attract devotees in large numbers. With ceutres spread all over India and abroad, Shri Ram Sharnam Panipat has the honour of being the only prayer hall inaugurated by Swami Satya Nandji himself in 1960, who described it as divinely inspired............
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Kurukshetra: The land of Mahabharat war, Haryana

Kurukshetra is a land of historical importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana, India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Holy City"). According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas, as depicted in epic Mahabharata. The importance of the place is attributed to the fact that the Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharata was fought on this land and the Bhagavad Gita was preached on this land during the war when Lord Krishna found Arjuna in a terrible dilemma.

Thanesar or Sthaneswar is a historical town located adjacent to what is now the newly created Kurukshetra city. Thanesar derives its name from the word "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. Local hearsay identifies the legendary "Kurukshetra" with a nearby place known as Thanesar. A few kilometeres from Kurukshetra is the village known as Amin, where there are remnants of a fort which is believed to be Abhimanyu's fort.

In some ancient Hindu texts, the boundaries of Kurukshetra correspond roughly to the state of Haryana. Thus according to the Taittiriya Aranyaka 5.1.1., the Kurukshetra region is south of Turghna (Srughna/Sugh in Sirhind, Punjab), north of Khandava (Delhi and Mewat region), east of Maru (desert) and west of Parin.

Important Places

Brahma Sarovar

Sannihit Sarovar

Jyotisar

Krishna Museum

Kalpana Chawla Planetarium

Bhishma Kund at Naraktari

Sheikh Chehli ka makbara (tomb)

Gurdwara Raj Ghat Patshahi Dasvin

Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi

Gurdwara Siddh Bati Patshahi Pahili

Pehowa

Ban Ganga in village Dayalpur

Bhadrakali Mandir

Birla Mandir

...........
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Haryana

Haryana has set up a number of tourist complexes, motels and camping sites to promote tourism. A total of 65 lakh tourists visited Haryana in the year 2001-2002. Haryana has one of the most successful tourist development programs led by Haryana Tourism department. The tourist complexes are named after Birds found in Haryana. Some of these places have dormitories and all of them have restaurants. Hotel Rajhans (Surajkund) and Badkal Lake are on the Delhi Agra highway. Karna Lake (Karnal), Skylark, Parakeet and Kingfisher (Ambala) are on Delhi-Chandigarh highway.Yadavindra Gardens at Pinjore, on the Chandigarh Shimla road are a must see.

Surkhab (Sirsa) and Flamingo (Hissar) complexes are on the Delhi-Fazilka national highway. Kurukshetra is a great pilgrimage for Hindus and tourists from all over visit the venue of Mahabharat war and the birth place of the Bhagvad Gita.

Building on its, historical and cultural traditions, it has developed in to a modern city having the Brahmsarovar, Sri Krishna Museum and the Science Museum (Panorama). Kurukshetra district is a tourist delight, and there are about 360 Tirthas of religious and historic importance. About 134 tirthas are being maintained by Kurukshetra Development Board, Kurukshetra.

The Delhi-Alwar highway boasts of a unique hilly attraction Sohna, in Gurgaon district. Standing on the Aravali Hills, Sohna looks out at a wide panoramic view of the plains below it. Sohna has been provided with landscaped gardens and an exclusive Barbet Hut complete with its own sitting area and an attached kitchen. A motel wing has been built here, where air-conditioned rooms are available for stay. In February, the Statesman Vintage Car Rally vends it way to the Sohna hill and Haryana Tourism celebrates the day with a Mela event.

Panchkula district has the Morni Hills - the only hill station of Haryana. A charming and peaceful place to rest and savor the nature. During the monsoons a carpet of grass covers the hills which makes them excellent grazing ground for black buck and Neelgai (blue bull). A lone leopard can be spotted on occasion, while Chital, foxes, wild boar, mongoose, jackals and hill forest birds are aplenty. Haryana offers a great opportunity for bird watching in Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary & National Park and Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary.

Haryana enjoys a prime position on the tourism map of the country. It offers a fascinating panorama of the past and enthralling modernity of the present. It has wide choice of Tourist destinations – Kurukshetra, Sohna, Panchkula, Panipat, Surajkund and Chandigarh are worth visiting. It has a very salubrious climate with hills, tanks, and forests. The state is studded with century-old monuments, temples, gardens and other attractions viz. Golf tourism and adventure tourism............
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