The Kurukshetra University was established in 1956. It is situated on the western bank of the Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra in the northern state of India, Haryana.

Initially, the University had only one department, the Department of Sanskrit. Later it grew into a multi disciplinary university with about forty departments and one hundred and twenty seven colleges. Along with the postgraduate courses, the University also conducts research-oriented programmes as a part of M. Phil and Ph.D courses. The University is at a distance of 4 kilometers from the Kuruksetra Junction Railway Station.