Haryana (Har)

Hin: हरियाणा hariyāṇā

‘Abode of Vishnu’ 

From Skt: hari, ‘(a name of) Vishnu’; and Skt: ayana, ‘abode’, ‘home’.

Also: (1) ‘Green Forest’. From Skt: hari, ‘green’, ‘greenish-yellow’; and Skt: araṇya(m), ‘forest’. (2) ‘Hari’s vehicle’. From Skt: yāna(m), ‘vehicle’, ‘body’.

Vishnu’s traditional yāna/vahana(m) or ‘vehicle’ is the bird, Garuda. The 12-13thC Tomara dynasty who ruled here called the region Hariyanaka.

Haryana was created in 1966 by carving out the Hindi-speaking areas from Punjab; they share Chandigarh as their capital.

Haryana was the location of two monumental battles: the 18-day Kurukshetra battle which is at the heart of the Mahabharata epic; and the Battle of Panipat (1526) which, following Babur’s victory, established Mughul rule in India.

Haryana is one of the richest states in India with the fifth highest GDP per capita, more than twice the national average.

Administrative divisions of Haryana