Kurukshetra is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is a region named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas in the Kuru kingdom, as depicted in epic Mahabharata. The Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharata is believed to have taken place here. Thaneswar, whose urban area is merged with Kurukshetra, is a pilgrimage site with many locations attributed to Mahabharata.