Kurukshetra is the Dharmakshetra of Bhāratavarsha, the field of dharma. Chapters 12 to 20 of the Saro Māhātmya in the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa give a full map of its holy places, set out as a pilgrim’s route. They name more than fifty tīrthas (sacred bathing places) with their devas, the rites to keep and the phalaśruti (the promised fruit). The pilgrimage begins at Rantuka, with the guardian yaksha of Kurukshetra, and goes through all four directions.

Sacred geography

Chapter 12 of the Saro Māhātmya gives the main marks of Kurukshetra.

The four kinds of mukti (liberation) can be won here: sālokya, sārūpya, sāmīpya and sāyujya.
Here Brahmā’s first yajña altar, the Brahmāvedi, was set up.
One who dies here gains moksha without further effort.
Even the wind that blows over Kurukshetra can cleanse the heaviest pāpa (sin).

The whole land is called Brahmāvarta. This is the oldest sacred region, the first land of dharmic life.

The region has three rings, one inside the other.

Brahmāvedi is the innermost. It lies between the rivers Sarasvatī and Dṛshadvatī.
Rāmahrada is the five lakes of Paraśurāma.
Kurukshetra is the outer sacred field. It is half a yojana wide.

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 1 and 12)

The pilgrimage route

The gate: Rantuka and the yaksha guardians

The pilgrimage begins at Rantuka, the gate of Kurukshetra. A mighty yaksha stands there as doorkeeper (dvārapāla). The pilgrim must bow to this great yaksha and ask his leave and blessing before going in. When the circuit is finished, the pilgrim comes back to Rantuka and spends a night. Then he bathes at the tīrtha and honours the second doorkeeper yaksha with this prayer: “O Yaksheśvara! Forgive my faults. By your grace may all impurity be removed, and may I gain the siddhi I seek.”

The yaksha at Rantuka guards the whole of Kurukshetra. The Mahāgrāhi Yakshiṇī tīrtha is also here. Fasting and bathing at this yakshiṇī tīrtha destroys the gravest pāpa. This gate is called the puṇya-vardhaka-dvāra, the door that increases puṇya (merit).

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 13)

Āditīvana and the first tīrthas (Chapter 13)

After the gate of Rantuka the pilgrim goes to Āditīvana. This is the forest where Aditi did tapas (austerity) for ten thousand years to gain Vāmana as her son. One who bathes here and has darśana of Aditi gets a shining son. From Āditīvana the route goes on through these places.

Savana: a sthāna of Vishṇu where Hari is present at all times.
Vimala tīrtha: bathing here and seeing Vimaleśvara gives a pure svarga and Rudraloka. Seeing Hari and Balarāma together here takes away the faults of the Kali age.
Pariplava tīrtha: famous in all three worlds. Bathing here, with darśana of Brahmā surrounded by the Vedas, gives svarga.
Kauśikī-saṃgama tīrtha: here the river Kauśikī joins another holy stream. Bathing at the meeting of the waters gives paramapada (the highest state).
Dharaṇī tīrtha: bathing here gives patience and the highest state. Dharaṇī, the earth-mother, forgives all the faults of those who bathe in her tīrtha.
Dakshāśrama: the hermitage of Daksha. Darśana of Daksheśvara Mahādeva here gives the fruit of the aśvamedha yajña.
Śālūkinī tīrtha: here the Hariharas (Vishṇu and Śiva together) are worshipped. It takes away pāpa and gives the lokas one wishes for.
Sarpi-dadhi tīrtha (also called Nāga-tīrtha): bathing here removes all fear of serpents.
Pañcanada, or Pañca-sarovara tīrtha: the complex of five lakes where Rudra himself gathered a crore of tīrthas. Bathing here and darśana of Koṭīśvara Mahādeva gives the fruit of five great yajñas.
Vāmana-sthāna: Bhagavān Vāmana is present here. Bathing gives the fruit of the agnishṭoma.
Aśvinī tīrtha: bathing gives rūpa-sampad (beauty and prosperity) and yaśas (fame).
Vārāha tīrtha: praised by Vishṇu. A bather with faith (śraddhālu) gains paramapada.
Soma tīrtha: here Soma, the moon (Candra), did tapas and was cured of his illness. Bathing and darśana of Someśvara give the fruit of the rājasūya yajña and a long stay in Candraloka.
The Bhūteśvara and Jvālamāleśvara liṅgas: arcana (pūjā) of these two liṅgas stops rebirth.
Ekahaṃsa tīrtha: bathing gives the merit of giving a thousand cows.
Kṛtaśauca kshetra: bathing gives the fruit of the Pauṇḍarīka yajña.
Muñjavata tīrtha and Muñjavateśvara: a night of fasting (upavāsa) here gives Gāṇapatya, the rank of an attendant of Gaṇeśa.
Jamadagni Pushkara: the tīrtha set up by the son of Jamadagni (Paraśurāma). Rites for the ancestors here give the fruit of the aśvamedha. Kanyādāna (the giving of a daughter in marriage) here in the month of Kārtika wins every vara (boon) from the devas.
Kapila tīrtha: bathing and darśana of Kapileśvara Mahādeva (Śiva in the form of Kapila) gives the merit of giving a thousand Kapila cows, and leads to mukti.

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 13)

Rāmahrada and the middle tīrthas (Chapter 14)

Rāmahrada: the five lakes of Paraśurāma. One who bathes here as a brahmacārī, keeping the right niyamas (rules), gains bahusvarṇa-prāpti (much gold).
Vaṃśamūla tīrtha: bathing here brings the well-being of one’s family line.
Kāyaśodhana tīrtha: famous in all three worlds. Bathing gives kāya-siddhi (perfection of the body) and leads to priceless lokas.
Lokoddāra tīrtha: Bhagavān Vishṇu himself has been present here. Bathing gives everlasting lokas.
Śālagrāma-Śrī tīrtha: bathing gives the lasting presence of Parameśvarī.
Kapila tīrtha (a second mention): Kapila Mahādeva is present here, and darśana gives mukti.
Sūrya tīrtha: bathing with fasting, and offerings to the devas and pitṛs, gives the fruit of the agnishṭoma and Sūryaloka.
Bhavānīvana: bathing gives the merit of giving a thousand cows. Here stands Gaṇapati at the mouth of the underground passage (bila) by which the cows of Surabhī came up from Pātāla.
Saṃginī tīrtha, also called Devī tīrtha: bathing here gives a beautiful form (rūpa), endless wealth, many children and in the end paramapada.
Brahmāvarta tīrtha: bathing here gives brahmajñāna (knowledge of Brahman) and svecchā-maraṇa (death at will).
Suttīrthaka tīrtha: the lasting home of devas and pitṛs. Rites for the ancestors here give the fruit of the aśvamedha.
Kāmeśvara tīrtha in Anbuvana: bathing frees one from all disease and makes one a brahmajñānī.
Mātṛtīrtha: bathing gives children and endless wealth.

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 14)

The river Āpagā and the eastern tīrthas (Chapter 15)

The river Āpagā: bathing is prescribed at this river. Piṇḍa-dāna (the gift of rice-balls to the ancestors) here on Bhādrapada Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī gives moksha. A śrāddha here secures a good state for the ancestors for 100 kalpas.
Brahmodumba (Brahmoduṃbara) tīrtha: made by the seven great ṛshis, Bharadvāja, Gautama, Jamadagni, Kaśyapa, Viśvāmitra, Vasishṭha and Atri. Brahmā himself did pūjā here, and so the place is called Brahmodumba. Bathing gives the fruit of seven soma-yajñas.
Brahmāṛshikuṇḍa: a separate kuṇḍa (pool) inside the same complex. Bathing here gives the fruit of seven soma-yajñas through the grace of the Saptarshis.
Kapīsthala: here stands Vṛddhakedarīśvara Mahādeva. Bathing and arcana give antardhāna-śakti (the power of becoming unseen) and Śivaloka. A śrāddha here on Caitra Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī gives paramapada.
Kalaśa tīrtha: Durgā, also called Kātyāyanī, Bhadrā, Nidrā and Māyā-Sanātanī, is honoured here. Bathing helps one cross the ocean of saṃsāra.
Naraka-kshetra: it holds three crore tīrthas. Mahādeva grants every wish here on Kṛshṇapaksha Caturdaśī. A well (kūpa) in the centre holds a crore of Rudras.
Iḍāspada tīrtha: darśana alone gives mukti.
Kedara tīrtha (inside Naraka-kshetra): bathing gives the fruit of dāna (giving).
Kimrūpa tīrtha: bathing gives the fruit of all yajñas.
Anyajanma (Anyajanma-kshetra) tīrtha: to the east of Naraka-kshetra. Here Vishṇu, who had taken the form of Narasiṃha against Hiraṇyakaśipu, and Śiva in the form of Śarabha, fought for a thousand divine years. Then both fell into a lake and took back their own divine forms. Nārada saw this and sang a stotra. Bathing here and offering tarpaṇa to the pitṛs gives Mahendra-jñāna.
Nāgahrada: bathing here is prescribed.
Pauṇḍarīka tīrtha: bathing gives the fruit of the Pauṇḍarīka yajña. Caitra Kṛshṇa Daśamī is an especially good day.
Trevishṭa tīrtha: the Vaitaraṇī flows here. Bathing and arcana of Śūlapāṇi Mahādeva take away all pāpa and then give paramapada.
Rasāvara tīrtha: bathing gives the highest siddhi.
Alepaka tīrtha: worship of Śiva here on Caitra Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī means that no pāpa can touch the worshipper.
Phalakīvana: bathing in the Dṛshadvatī here gives the fruit of the agnishṭoma and atirātra. A śrāddha at Phalakīvana on a Monday in the dark half of the month equals a śrāddha at Gayā.
Pāṇikhāta tīrtha: bathing and tarpaṇa to the pitṛs give the fruit of the rājasūya and success in Sāṃkhya-yoga (siddhi).
Miśraka tīrtha: here Vyāsa mixed the waters of all the tīrthas for Dadhīci. Bathing here is the same as bathing in all tīrthas.
Vyāsavana, Manojava tīrtha: all wishes of the mind are fulfilled. Darśana of Śiva is had here.
Madhuvāṭī Devī tīrtha: bathing in purity and making offerings to devas and pitṛs gives great siddhis.
Dṛshadvatī-Kauśikī saṅgama: bathing at this meeting of rivers frees one from all pāpa.
Haṃsa tīrtha: here Vyāsa was close to ending his life from putra-śoka (grief at the death of his son), but the devas comforted him. Bathing here keeps putra-śoka away.
Kindatta tīrtha: the gift of a prastha (a measure) of sesame here frees one from all ṛṇas (debts) and gives the highest siddhi.
Āhnam-sudina tīrthas: bathing gives Sūryaloka.
Kṛtajapa tīrtha: bathing in the Gaṅgā here, with control of the senses (indriya-nigraha) and arcana of Mahādeva, gives the fruit of the aśvamedha. A separate koṭi-tīrtha here holds Koṭīśvara. Darśana of him gives the fruit of a crore of yajñas and Gaṇādhipatya (lordship over the gaṇas).
Vāmana-kshetra and Vishṇupadī tīrtha: the place where Trivikrama measured the worlds and his foot touched the earth. Bathing and pūjā of Vāmana take away all pāpa and give Vishṇuloka.
Jyeshṭhāśrama: darśana alone gives mukti. Fasting on Jyeshṭha Śukla Ekādaśī and a bath on Dvādaśī give śreshṭhatva (the rank of the best). Vishṇu himself placed the best brāhmaṇas here. Gifts and śrāddha made here stay fruitful until the end of the manvantara.

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 14 and 15)

Tīrthas on the Sarasvatī bank and the Saptasārasvata (Chapters 16 and 18)

Pavanakuṇḍa: bathing and darśana of Mahādeva give Śivapada. Here Vāyu had melted away in sorrow, and Brahmā and the other devas restored him.
Amṛtakshetra: bathing gives amṛtatva (immortality, or moksha).
Kulottāraṇa tīrtha: Vishṇu himself was born here to raise up all the varṇas. Even a brahmacārī who enters here at once sees paramapada. A member of any āśrama who bathes here frees twenty-one generations.
Śālihotra tīrtha (of the rājarshi Śālihotra): bathing removes all faults of the body.
Śrīkuñja tīrtha: on the Sarasvatī. Bathing gives the fruit of the agnishṭoma. The Naimisha-kuñja nearby gives the merit of a bath at Naimisha.
Vedavatī tīrtha: here Vedavatī did tapas, was wronged by Rāvaṇa, and gave up her body in fire. She was born again as Sītā. Bathing takes away all pāpa and gives the fruit of the kanyā-yajña and paramapada.
Brahma-kshetra: bathing here gives brāhmaṇahood even to those of lower varṇas.
Soma tīrtha (the second): here Soma, the moon, gained the rank of Brahmarāja through tapas. Bathing and offerings free one from pāpa and give a svarga with the quality of Kārtika Pūrṇimā.
Saptasārasvata tīrtha: where the seven Sarasvatīs flow together. It is praised in all three worlds.
Auśanasa tīrtha: where Śukrācārya became a graha (planet) through tapas. The account of Rahhodara is also told here. (Chapter 18)
Viśvāmitra tīrtha: where Viśvāmitra gained brahmatva, the rank of a brahmarshi. (Chapter 18)
Pṛthūdaka tīrtha: the holy place of Paraśurāma’s rites, Kārttikeya’s abhisheka and Indra’s śrāddha.
Brahmayoni tīrtha: gives Brahmaloka. (Chapter 18)
Avakīrṇa tīrtha: the account of Baka Dālbhya and Dhṛtarāshṭra. (Chapter 18)
Yāyāta tīrtha: linked with Yayāti. (Chapter 18)
Madhusrava river tīrtha: the sweet-flowing holy stream. (Chapter 18)
Vāsishṭhodvāha tīrtha: where the account of Vasishṭha and his conflict with Viśvāmitra is set. (Chapters 18 and 19)

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 16 and 18)

Tīrthas of Chapter 20: the western and northern circuit

The tīrtha of the four oceans of Darvī: it stands for the four great oceans in one place.
Ṛṇamocana tīrtha: gives release from all ṛṇas (debts).
Kumārābhisheka (Ojasā) tīrtha: the place of the abhisheka of Kumāra (Kārttikeya).
Pañcavaṭa: the presence of Śiva is here. It is not the Pañcavaṭa of the Rāmāyaṇa.
Kurutīrtha: where King Kuru did his great tapas. He ploughed the field with Rudra’s bull and Yama’s buffalo and offered his own limbs, and so set up the Dharmakshetra. Indra gave the vara (boon) of eightfold dharmic merit to those who die here.
Śivadvāra: the gate of Śiva at Kurukshetra.
Anarakā tīrtha: gives freedom from fear.
Kāmyakavana: Sūrya is present here in the forest as Purusha. Worship of him there fulfils wishes. This is the holy Kāmyaka forest of the Saptavanas.

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 20)

The Sthāṇuvaṭa and Sannihita region (Chapters 24 and 25)

The innermost circuit around the Sthāṇuvaṭa (the banyan tree of Sthāṇu) forms a ring of tīrthas.

Śukra-tīrtha: north of the Sthāṇuvaṭa.
Soma-tīrtha: east of the Sthāṇuvaṭa.
Daksha-tīrtha: south of the Sthāṇuvaṭa.
Skanda-tīrtha: west of the Sthāṇuvaṭa.

Around it stand these liṅgas and places.

Umādevī liṅga: Umā in the form of a liṅga, at the side of the Sthāṇu-liṅga. Darśana gives siddhi.
Takshaka’s liṅga: north of the banyan tree. It grants all wishes.
Viśvakarma’s liṅga: east of the banyan tree. Darśana gives siddhi. Sarasvatī in the form of a liṅga is also at this eastern spot, and a namaskāra to her gives buddhi (understanding) and medhā (memory).
Brahmā’s Vaṭeśvara liṅga: the liṅga Brahmā set up beside the banyan tree. Darśana gives paramapada.
Nākulīśa-gaṇa: west of the banyan tree. Arcana removes all pāpa.
Rudrakara tīrtha: to the south. Bathing gives the merit of all tīrtha baths.
Gokarṇeśvara liṅga: set up by Rāvaṇa. Arcana on Āshāḍha Kṛshṇa Caturdaśī removes all pāpa.
Vibhīshaṇa’s liṅga: fasting and pūjā on Āshāḍha Śukla Ashṭamī give amṛtatva.
Khara’s liṅga: wishes are fulfilled by devoted arcana.
Dūshaṇa’s liṅga: arcana in the bright half of Caitra gives divine varas (boons).
Triśiras’s liṅga: also arcana in the bright half of Caitra.
Hastipādeśvara liṅga: darśana removes all pāpa of past lives.
Hārīta Muni’s liṅga: a namaskāra gives siddhis.
Vāpīta’s liṅga: famous in the three worlds as the remover of all pāpa (sarvapāpa-hara). It was set up by the great Vāpīta Muni.
Asthi-pañjara Rudraliṅga: gives both bhukti (enjoyment) and mukti. Mere darśana gives the fruit of the agnishṭoma.
Siddheśvara liṅga: set up by the siddhas. It gives the siddhi of knowing all (sarvajña-siddhi).
Mṛkaṇḍu’s liṅga: darśana gives sarvajña-siddhi.
Āditya’s liṅga: destroys all pāpa.
Citrāṅgada and Rambheśvara liṅgas: set up by the gandharva Citrāṅgada and the apsarā Rambhā as signs of their love. Bathing and darśana give a beautiful form and a good family in the next birth.
Indra’s liṅga: gives the fruit one wishes for. Here Parāśara gained kavi-śakti (the power of poetry), and Vyāsa gained sarvajñatva (knowledge of all) by worshipping Parameśvara.
Vāyu’s liṅga: west of the main Sthāṇu. Darśana removes pāpa.
Himavateśvara liṅga: darśana gives siddhis.
Kārtavīrya’s liṅga: darśana gives puṇya.
Supārśva’s liṅga: Hanumān did pūjā here and gained siddhis.
Vishṇu’s liṅga: Vishṇu did pūjā here and obtained the Sudarśana Cakra.
The two liṅgas of Mitra and Varuṇa: set up by Mitra and Varuṇa. The ṛshis, sādhyas, ādityas and vasus all did pūjā here.

The total number of liṅgas in the region is 3.5 crore, as Vāyu declared (vāyu-prokta). This does not count the thousands of Rudras who live there. To the north, as far as the river Oghāvatī, and to the west, there are one thousand liṅgas set up by ṛshis. To the east, toward Sannihita, there is one crore of liṅgas set up by the Vālakhilya munis. To the south there are liṅgas beyond counting, set up by gandharvas, yakshas and kinnaras.

(Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 25)

Phalaśruti for Kurukshetra as a whole

Chapter 12 gives the general phalaśruti of Kurukshetra. Those who die here gain moksha without further effort. Those who live here and do their daily rites gather puṇya beyond counting. Even a person who enters Kurukshetra with no wish for the spiritual life, by chance or by accident, is cleansed. The wind, the dust, the rivers and the trees, all of Kurukshetra is made holy. Touch with any part of this holy field leads the ātmā toward mukti.

The Mausala Parva: the Sarasvatī bank as a refuge of the Yādavas

After the Yādavas were destroyed at Prabhāsa and Dvārakā was drowned, Arjuna led the surviving women, elders and children of the clan eastward and came to the region of Kurukshetra. There, on the bank of the holy Sarasvatī, the same river that marks the innermost Brahmāvedi of Kurukshetra, the dharma-minded Arjuna settled the descendants of Sātyaki. The other survivors were settled at Indraprastha and Mārtikāvata. So the holy bank of the Sarasvatī at Kurukshetra became one of the resting places of the Yādava remnant at the end of the Dvāpara age. (Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 7)

Sources

Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 12–20
Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 1 (the three rings of Kurukshetra)
Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 24–25 (the Sthāṇuvaṭa and Sannihita region)
Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 7

Tīrthas of Kurukshetra