Pehowa

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Pehowa

Ancient town and place of pilgrimage in the Kaithal tahsil of Karnal District, Punjab, situated in 29 59' N. and 76 35' E., on the sacred SaraswatI river, 16 miles west of Thanesar. It lies in KURUKSHKTRA, and its name is a corruption of the Sanskrit Prithudaka, the pool of Prithu, the son of Raja Vena. Two inscrip- tions dating from the end of the ninth century A.D., found at Pehowa, show that it was then included in the dominions of Bhoja and his son Mehendrapala, kings of Kanauj. The more important inscription records the erection of a triple temple to Vishnu by a Tomar family ; but no traces of ancient buildings remain, the modern shrines having been erected within the last century. After the rise of the Sikhs to power Pehowa came into the possession of the Bhais of Kaithal, whose palace is now used as a resthouse; but with Kaithal it lapsed to the British Government, and has since lost its importance, the population having decreased from 3,408 in 1881 to 2,080 in 1901. It is still, however, a place of pilgrimage; and close to it are the temples of Pirthudakeshwar or Pirthuveshwar, built by the Marathas during their supremacy in honour of the goddess SaraswatI (Sarsuti) and of Swami Kartik. The latter is said to have been originally founded before the war of the Mahabharata in honour of the war-god Kartaya. The town has a dispensary.