Karnal

Karnal is a city in the Indian state of Haryana and the administrative headquarters of Karnal district. It lies on National Highway 44 almost midway between the national capital New Delhi and the state capital Chandigarh, with Panipat to the south and Kurukshetra and Kaithal to the north, and the Yamuna River flows along its eastern edge. Local tradition says the city is named after Karna, a prominent figure of the epic Mahabharata. The Battle of Karnal between Nader Shah of Persia and the Mughal Empire was fought here in 1739, and the forces of the East India Company used Karnal as a refuge during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in Delhi. At the end of the 6th century the area was under the Vardhanas of Thanesar, and the city had 302,140 residents in 2011.