Prithudaka Kartikeya Temple

Getting there

• By air

  The nearest airport named for the Kurukshetra area is at Chandigarh.

• By train

  Kurukshetra Junction is a junction station on the Delhi-Kalka line and the Kurukshetra-Jind branch line.

• By road

  Kurukshetra is connected to Pehowa on the Ambala-Hisar National Highway 65.

Rules to know

• The Haryana government bans sale, possession, consumption and purchase of non-vegetarian food within Pehowa town limits.
• Slaughter of animals in the town is banned under court orders.

Why devotees come here

Prithudaka Kartikeya Temple stands in Pehowa, a town in Kurukshetra district, Haryana, about 27 km west of Kurukshetra. The temple is named for Kartikeya, and Hindus and Sikhs both regard the town as sacred.

Pehowa is a sacred place of pilgrimage for Hindus and Sikhs alike. Thousands of them come to perform pind daan, the rite for their ancestors and loved ones. The Prithudak tirtha is one of the important tirthas on the 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra. Pehowa became a tehsil on 1 November 1979, and it is a town and municipal committee in Kurukshetra district.

Pehowa is believed to be older than the Mahabharata war by many centuries. The town then stood on the banks of the Saraswati River, which has since dried up. Legend says Krishna took the Pandavas here before the war, so they could seek the blessings of Sarasvati and of their ancestors.

Two ninth-century inscriptions found at Pehowa mention that Mahendrapala of Kanauj controlled the place, and that a Vishnu temple was built here by the Tungad family. No such temple stands in the town today. The Kartikeya Temple itself is described as a 5th-century temple.

Tips for your visit

• Pehowa has many tirthas, ghats and temples in and around the town.
• The Prithudak tirtha is listed among the tourist attractions of Kurukshetra district.

Questions people ask