Karyala is a village and
union council, an administrative subdivision, of
Chakwal District
Chakwal District ( Punjabi and ur, ) is in Pothohar Plateau of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the north of the Punjab province, Chakwal district is bordered by Khushab to its south, Rawalpindi to its north east, Jhelum to its east, Mian ...
in the
Punjab Province of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. It is part of
Chakwal Tehsil
Chakwal Tehsil ( ur, ), is an administrative subdivision (tehsil) of Chakwal District in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province of Pakistan. The tehsil is subdivided into 30 Union Councils of Pakistan, Union Councils - five of which form the capi ...
. The village stands on the top of the Surla hills. This part of the country is known as ''Dhani'' meaning rich. A few kilometres away are the Khewra Salt Mines, which are some of the oldest in the world, and coal mines of ''Dandot''.
Location
The town is about ten kilometres from
Chakwal
Chakwal ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city in Rawalpindi Division, Punjab province, Pakistan.
It is the 66th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west of the federal capital, Islamabad and 270 kilomet ...
on the road to the ''Katas Raj'' Temple Complex.
History
Katas Lake
The Katas lake is a significant landmark in the region. Legend connects it to the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
. It is believed to be the very pool, where the
Pandava
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...
,
Yudhishthira
''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his first w ...
was tested by his father, Lord
Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...
/
Dharma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...
in the form of a
Yaksha
The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...
. A great
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
fair used to be held there up to 1947.
References
Union councils of Chakwal District
Populated places in Chakwal District
{{Chakwal-geo-stub