Tīrthas of Kurukshetra and the Sarasvatī

Āditya Tīrtha on the river Sarasvatī is where Bhagavān Sūrya did tapas to gain leadership among the luminaries, and where Vyāsa and Asita Devala gained yoga-siddhi.

Agni Tīrtha on the river Sarasvatī is where the devas found Bhagavān Agni hidden in the Śamī tree after Bhṛgu's curse.

Anirīṇa Tīrtha lies south of the Sarasvatī in Samantapañcaka (Kurukshetra); the mace fight of Bhīma and Duryodhana was held here.

Badara Pācana, 'the cooking of jujubes', is a tīrtha on the Sarasvatī named after the tapas of Śrutāvatī, daughter of Bharadvāja.

Bindu Sara is a holy lake on the Sarasvatī where Kardama did tapas, married Devahūti, and where Devahūti reached moksha.

Brahma Yoni Tīrtha on the Sarasvatī is where Brahmā created many tīrthas with the devas. Balarāma bathed here on his pilgrimage.

Indra Tīrtha on the Sarasvatī is where Indra performed one hundred yajñas and became known as Śatakratu.

Kapālamocana, 'freedom from the skull', is a tīrtha on the Sarasvatī, also called Auśanasa, where Mahodara and Paraśurāma were freed.

Kārapavana Tīrtha is a holy place linked with the Yamunā, Indra, Agni and Aryaman, near the Mitra-Varuṇa āśrama, where Nārada met Balarāma.

Kaubera Tīrtha on the Sarasvatī river is where Kubera did great tapas and won his rule over all wealth, the Pushpaka vimāna and the friendship of Śaṅkara.

The Saro Māhātmya of the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa lists over fifty tīrthas of Kurukshetra as a pilgrim's route, with the rites and merit of each.

Kurukshetra is the holy plain north of the Yamunā where the eighteen-day Mahābhārata war was fought, and an ancient tīrtha with many ṛshi āśramas.

Nāgadhanva Tīrtha, on the Sarasvatī south of the Dvaitavana, is the home of Vāsuki, king of serpents, and a place where no one fears serpents.

Plaksha-Prasravaṇa, on the Himavat range, is where the Sarasvatī river springs from the foot of a Plaksha tree; Balarāma sang a stotra to the river here.

Pṛthūdaka is a very holy tīrtha of Kurukshetra on the Sarasvatī, known for Indra's śrāddha, Kārttikeya's abhisheka and the ṛshis who found their goal here.

The Rāma Tīrtha on the Sarasvatī is the *tīrtha* where Paraśurāma lived in *tapas* after he gave the whole earth to Kaśyapa.

The Rāmahrada is the group of five lakes at Kurukshetra that Paraśurāma made, and where his ancestors made the lakes holy *tīrthas*.

Samantapañcaka is the holy field of Kurukshetra, named for the five lakes of blood that Paraśurāma made there and later made into a *tīrtha*.

The Sannihita Sarovara is the primordial holy lake at the heart of Kurukshetra, where the Sthāṇu-liṅga stands and all *tīrthas* meet at noon.

Saptasārasvata is the *tīrtha* at Kurukshetra where seven forms of Sarasvatī Devī meet, called there by the ṛshi Maṅkaṇaka.

The Saptavanas are the seven holy forests of Kurukshetra, named in the Saro Māhātmya, with the nine rivers that flow through the same land.

Sārasvata Tīrtha is a tīrtha on the Sarasvatī river where Dadhīca's son Sārasvata was born and kept the Vedas alive through a twelve-year drought.

Sthāneśvara is a Śaiva tīrtha at the place of the Dadhīci and Kshupa conflict, where seeing the Sthāneśvara liṅga gives Śivasāyujya.

Sthāṇu Tīrtha on the Sarasvatī was founded by Bhagavān Śiva as Sthāṇu. Here the devas made Kārttikeya their commander and Varuṇa lord of the waters.

Trita Kūpa, also called Chamasodbheda, is a tīrtha on the Sarasvatī where Trita Ṛshi, thrown into a well by his brothers, made a yajña and pleased the devas.

Vinaśana Tīrtha is the place on the Sarasvatī where the river goes underground. Balarāma visited it on his pilgrimage.

Vṛddha Kanyā Tīrtha on the Sarasvatī is named for the woman Kuṇirgarga made by tapas. One night's stay here gives the fruit of 58 years of brahmacarya.

Yāyāta Tīrtha is a holy place on the Sarasvatī where King Yayāti, son of Nahusha, performed a great yajña, and where Balarāma bathed.