Karna Lake is a major tourist attraction in the Karnal

Karnal

Karnal is an important city and the headquarters of Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana.Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas in the Mahabharata era for the king Karna, a mythological hero and a key figure in the epic tale...

 district of Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

. It is located at a distance of 125 km from both Chandigarh

Chandigarh

Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

 and Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, thus serving as a midway halt while traveling between the two cities on the famous Grand Trunk Road

Grand Trunk Road

The Grand Trunk Road also formerly known as Uttarapatha, Shah Rah-e-Azam or Sadak-e-Azam or Badshahi Sadak is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads...

. Folklore has it that Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

, a famous character from Indian history, who played a major role in the war of Mahabharat, used to bathe in this lake. It was at this spot that he gave away his protective armor to Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

, the Godfather of Arjuna

Arjuna

Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...

, Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

's arch-enemy. It is surmised that the city of Karnal

Karnal

Karnal is an important city and the headquarters of Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana.Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas in the Mahabharata era for the king Karna, a mythological hero and a key figure in the epic tale...

 derives its name from Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

-Taal, which translates to Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

 Lake. That may also be the reason for Karnal

Karnal

Karnal is an important city and the headquarters of Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana.Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas in the Mahabharata era for the king Karna, a mythological hero and a key figure in the epic tale...

 to be called the City of Karna

Karna

Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

in local parlance.