Karnal

Karnal lies on the northern Indian plain near the Yamuna, between Panipat and the sacred country around Thanesar. Local tradition associates its name with Karna, the hero of the Mahabharata. Under the Mughals it was a pargana of Delhi, assessed for revenue and required to provide infantry and cavalry to the imperial army.

In 1739 the Persian ruler Nader Shah invaded India and defeated the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah at Karnal. The emperor's army occupied a fortified camp, but its supplies were cut off and he submitted to the invader, who advanced on Delhi. Later in the century Sikh power grew in the region. Gajpat Singh of Jind took Karnal in 1763, built a fort and walls, and presided over an expansion of the town.