THANE, SAR TO WN 305
77° 17' E., on the west bank of the Jumna, with an area of 599 square
miles. The population in igoi was 173,208, compared with 177,442
in 18gi. It contains the towns of THANESAR (population, 5;066), the
head-quarters, LADWA (3,518), and SHAHABAD (ii,oog); and 418
villages. The land revenue and cesses in 1903-4 amounted to
2-8 lakhs. Thanesar practically coincides with the old Pipli tahsil of
Ambala District, from which it was transferred in 1897. On the east
it has a narrow frontage along the Jumna. The fertile riverain low
lands average about 6 miles in width. The western boundary of this
tract is the old bank of the Jumna, and from the crest of this bank the
country slopes away westwards. The uplands are intersected by several
torrent beds, and the soil, especially to the south, is for the most part
stiff and infertile. Dhdk jungle abounds. The Markanda country
on the north-west has the advantages of a lighter soil and fertilizing
floods.
Thanesar Town (Thdneswar).-Head-quarters of the tahsil of
the same name in Karnal District, Punjab, situated in 29° 59' N. and
76° 5o' E., on the banks of the Saraswati, and on the Delhi-Umballa-
Kalka Railway. Population (1901), 5,066. It is famous as the most
sacred place in the holy land of KURUKSHETRA, its name meaning
`the place of the god' (sthdneshwara). In the time of Hiuen Tsiang,
Thanesar was the capital of a Vaisya (Bais) dynasty, which 'ruled parts
of the Southern Punjab, Hindustan, and Eastern Rajputana. In
A.D. 648 a Chinese ambassador sent to Harshavardhana of Thanesar
found that; the Senapati Arjuna had usurped his kingdom, and the
dynasty then became extinct. Thanesar, however, continued to be
a place of great sanctity ; but in 1014 it was sacked by Mahmud of
Ghazni, and, although recovered by the Hindu Raja of Delhi in 1043,
it remained desolate for centuries. By the time of Sikandar Lodi it
had, however, been in some measure restored, for that emperor pro
posed to make a raid on it to massacre the pilgrims. In 1567 Akbar
witnessed its great fair; but Aurangzeb desecrated the shrine and built
a castle in its sacred lake, whence his soldiers could fire on pilgrims
who attempted to bathe. At the annexation of the cis-Sutiej territory,
the town and neighbourhood were in the possession of a Sikh family;
but they lapsed to the British Government in 1850. Thanesar was the
head-quarters of a British District till 1862, but has since steadily
declined in importance. The municipality was created in 1867. The
income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 7,900, and
the expenditure Rs. 7,300. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 8,9oo,
chiefly derived from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 8,2oo. The
town has a vernacular middle school and a dispensary. The bathing-
fairs held here on the occasion of solar eclipses are sometimes attended
by half a million pilgrims.
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