Kursela is a variant of Kuru-Shila, which translates as the hilly part of the region which once belonged to the king Kuru, the descendents of whom were called Kauravas and, in the Mahabharata, waged a war with the Pandavas, their cousins.
Not only the Kaurava king Duryodhana but also his brothers along with his sister Dussala, uncle Shakuni, Angaraja Karna, Pita mah Bheeshma, guru Drona have dedicated temples (unlike other temples there is no deity) in and around Kollam District.
The Kaurava conflict began after a sudden appearance of a Warp Storm near Kaurava IV.
Kaurava |
By the time of the Battle of Kurukshetra, Sini's grandson Satyaki, now a king of the Vrishnis, was allied with the Pandava army while Bhurishravas, now aged, sided with the Kauravas and was one of the eleven commanders of the Kaurava army.
Legend has it that Karnasubarna was the capital of the 'Anga' Kingdom that the Kaurava prince Duryodhana had gifted to the magnanimous Karna, the first born of Kunti.
Jayadratha was very effective in stopping four of the five pandavas from entering Chakravyūha (by making use of a boon granted to him by Lord Shiva); Abhimanyu was very effective in holding all the Kaurava Mahārathis (Great Charioteers, colloquially 'Great Warriors') at bay and thereby preventing the advancement of Kaurava forces towards the Pandavas.
Modern scholars see similarities between Ranna's usage of the "adult imps" (called murulgal) that stalk the battlefield of Kurukshetra and warn Kaurava prince Duryodhana (Bhima's adversory in battle) about his impending death, and the description of witches by later day famed English play write, Shakespear.