Mahmud’s sack of Thanesar

01The raid

Al-Utbi records that Mahmud heard of Thanesar as a place held in great reverence by the Hindus and marched on it. The Hindu Shahi Anandapala, the sources say, sent an offer of tribute if the town were spared, which Mahmud refused. A local force tried to defend the crossing of a stream and was beaten. The town was plundered before help could gather, and the army returned to Ghazni with captives and treasure.

02Chakrasvamin

Al-Biruni, who knew India well, writes in his Kitab al-Hind that the image of Chakrasvamin, Vishnu bearing the discus, at Thanesar was of bronze and nearly the size of a man, and that it was brought to Ghazni and thrown into the hippodrome there, together with a bronze image from Somnath. He also notes that the Hindus connected the image with the Mahabharata war, Thanesar lying on the edge of Kurukshetra.

Place · Ancient Shiva tirtha that gave Thanesar its name; present temple a later rebuildingSthaneshwar Mahadev Temple, ThanesarThe Shiva temple of Sthanu, the Lord who stands firm, from whom Sthanvishvara, the capital of Harsha, took its name. The tradition of Kurukshetra says the Pandavas worshipped here before the war.Read →