Kurukshetra District is an administrative district of Haryana. The district headquarter is located at Kurukshetra town and is about 160 kms north of Delh,i 39 kms north of Karnal and 40 kms south of Ambala. Kurukshetra District has an area of 1682.53 sq kms constituting around 3.8 percent of the total area of the state. Kurukshetra District lies between latitude 29 degree 52 minutes to 30 degree 12 minutes and longitude 76 degree 26 minutes to 77 degree 4 minutes in the north Eastern part of Haryana. The important towns of the district are Pehowa, Shahabad and Ladwa.

History of Kurukshetra District
District Kurukshetra was formed in the year 1973. Kurukshetra District derived its name from the land of Kurus. Kurukshetra is a place of great historical and religious importance, revered all over the country for its sacred associations. It was here that the battle of Mahabharata was fought and Lord Krishna preached his philosophy of `Karma`. In the very first verse of Bhagwat Gita, Kurukshetra is described as `Dharamkshetra` that is field of righteousness.

Geography of Kurukshetra District
On the whole, Kurukshetra District is a plain land which slopes from north east to south and south west. The plain is remarkably flat and within it, are the narrow low-lying flood plains, known as either Betre Khadar of Naili. Sarasvati, Markanda River and Ghaggar River are the important rivers of the district. A good network of canals is providing irrigational facilities. Underground water level is not relatively high. Tube well irrigation is also common in the district. The soil in the district is generally alluvial, loam and clay does not constitute average texture of the soil. The climate of Kurukshetra District is of pronounced character that is very hot in summer and markedly cold in winter. It is as high as 45 degree Celsius in summer and as low as 3 degree Celsius in winter.

Administration of Kurukshetra District
At present Kurukshetra district is divided into two Revenue Sub Divisions namely Thanesar and Pehowa. Thanesar Sub Division comprises Thanesar and Shahabad Tehsils and Ladwa, Babain Sub Tehsils. Pehowa Sub Division includes Pehowa Tehsil and Ismailabad Sub Tehsil. To cater development needs of the rural areas in the district, the district has been divided into five Community Development Blocks namely Thanesar, Ladwa, Shahabad, Babain and Pehowa. Three tier Panchayati Raj Institutions structure is in place to look after the development in rural areas with Zilla Parishad at district level, Panchayat Samities at each of the five Community Development Blocks and Panchayats at village level. 364 Panchayats are working for the development needs of 419 villages of the district. Kurukshetra District has four towns namely Thanesar, Shahabad, Ladwa and Pehowa where there are Municipal Councils for the development of these towns. Kurukshetra District falls under Kurukshetra Parliamentary Constituency and Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra is Returning Officer for this Constituency. The area of district Kurukshetra is spread in Thanesar, Shahabad, Pehowa, Nilokheri and Pundri Assembly Constituencies. The administrative work of the district is carried out by the various departments.

Economy of Kurukshetra District
Kurukshetra District has agriculture based economy. A huge percentage of the total population of the district is associated with agriculture and allied activities. Animal husbandry is another sector of the economy of this district. Further, Kurukshetra District also has several small industries that provide large employment opportunity. Total area under cultivation is 168000 hectares out of this 147000 hectare is net irrigated area.

Tourism in Kurukshetra District
There are several places of tourist attraction in Kurukshetra District. This district offers several religious as well as historic sites for exploring. Kurukshetra Tank, Sannihit Tank, Sthaneshwar Mahadev Mandir, Jyotisar, Baan-ganga, Bhisam Kund (Narkatari) Chandrakupa, Nabhi Kamal, Bhadrakali Mandir, Arnai Temple, Prachi Tirath Pehowa, Saraswati Tirath Pehowa, Prithduk Tirath Pehowa, Rantuk Yaksh Bir Pipli, and Karan Ka Tila are some of the main places of interest of this district.

Kurukshetra is located at a distance of about 6 kms from Pipli an important road junction on Grand Trunk Road. It is easily accessible from all parts of the state. Kurukshetra Railway Station, also called the Kurukshetra Junction, is located on main Delhi-Ambala Railway line.