01Sthanu
Sthanu, the pillar or the unmoving one, is a name of Rudra in the Mahabharata, and the Vamana Purana gives a whole account of the Sthanu tirtha in Kurukshetra and of the linga worshipped here. The local tradition holds that the Pandavas with Shri Krishna prayed here for Mahadev’s blessing before the eighteen days of war. The town that grew around the tirtha was Sthanvishvara, the Thanesar of later speech, and Banabhatta’s Harshacharita describes it as the capital of the Pushyabhuti kings, from which Harshavardhana set out in 606 CE.
02Sacked and rebuilt
In 1014 Mahmud of Ghazni marched on Thanesar and plundered the town; al-Biruni records that the bronze image of Chakrasvamin, Vishnu with the discus, was carried from Thanesar to Ghazni. The temples of the tirtha did not survive the following centuries as they were. The present temple, with its dome-like spire and the tank beside it whose water pilgrims hold to be healing, is a later rebuilding.
The life of this place
- 606 CEHarshavardhana becomes king at Sthanvishvara.
- 1014Mahmud of Ghazni sacks Thanesar; the image of Chakrasvamin is taken to Ghazni (al-Biruni).
In Thanesar town, about 3 km from Kurukshetra railway station; combine with Brahma Sarovar and Jyotisar.
