History of Haryana - Vedic Period

Vedic Period

Many settlements dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization have been found along river Saraswati bed, at Naurangabad and Mittathal in Bhiwani District, Kunal, in Fatehabad District, Agroha and Rakhigarhi in Hisar District, Rukhi in Rohtak District and Banawali in Sirsa District. The ancient Vedic civilization also flourished on the banks of the Saraswati, and the hymns of Rigveda were composed here.

In some ancient Hindu texts, the boundaries of Kurukshetra correspond roughly to the state of Haryana. Thus according to the Taittiriya Aranyaka 5.1.1., the Kurukshetra region is south of Turghna (Srughna/Sugh in Sirhind, Punjab), north of Khandava (Delhi and Mewat region), east of Maru (desert) and west of Parin.

Mahabharata, the great epic of India mentions Haryana as Bahudhhanyaka, 'land of plentiful grains' and Bahudhana, 'land of immense riches'. Several places mentioned in Mahabharata correspond to modern day cities in Haryana: Prithudaka (Pehowa), Tilprastha (Tilput), Panprastha (Panipat) and Sonprastha (Sonipat).Gurgaon refers to the village of the Guru Dronacharya . The great battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas took place near the city of Kurukshetra. Krishna preached the Bhagvad Gita to the reluctant Arjuna there. .For eighteen days following that, armies from all over India battled in the plains of Kurukshetra to decide who sits on the throne of Hastinapur. Maharaja Agrasen is said to have established a flourishing city of merchants at Agroha near modern Hisar. Legend has it that anyone wishing to settle in the city was given a brick and a rupee by each of the city's lakh residents. Thus, they would have enough bricks to build a house and enough money to start a business of their own.

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