Mathura pronunciation^ⓘ (Hindi: मथुरा, Urdu: متھرا) is a holy city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, located approximately 50 km north of Agra, and 150 km south of Delhi. It is the administrative centre of Mathura District of Uttar Pradesh. During the ancient period, this was an economic hub, located at the junction of some relatively important caravan routes.

Mathura is the reputed to be the birthplace of Krishna, Krishnajanmabhoomi. The Keshav Dev temple was built in ancient times on the site of Krishna's supposed birthplace (an underground prison). As per epic Mahabharata, Mathura was the capital of the Surasena Kingdom, ruled by Kansa the maternal uncle of Krishna. The city is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes story 'The Sign of Four.'^[1].

History

In the 6th century BC Mathura became the capital of the Shursen republic. The city was later ruled by the Maurya empire (4th to 2nd centuries BC) and the Sunga dynasty (2nd century BC). It may have come under control of the Indo-Greeks some time between 180 BC and 100 BC. However, it would then have briefly reverted to Indian rule before being occupied by the Indo-Scythians during the 1st century BC. Archaeological evidence seems to indicate that, by 100 BC, there was a group of Jains living in Mathura [Bowker].

Megasthenes, writing in the early 3rd century BC, mentions Mathura as a great city under the name Μέθορα (Méthora).^[2]

Mathura served as one of the Kushan Empire's two capitals from the first to the third centuries. The Mathura Museum has the largest collection of redstone sculptures in Asia, depicting many famous Buddha figurines. In 634 Xuanzang had visited the Mathura town. He went east to Jalandhara in eastern Punjab, before climbing up to visit predominantly Theravada monasteries in the Kulu valley and turning southward again to Bairat and then Mathura, on the Yamuna river.

The city was sacked and many of its temples destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018. The Keshav Dev temple was partially destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who built the city's Jami Masjid (Friday mosque) on the same site, re-using many of the temple's stones. The main Krishna shrine is presently the Dwarkadeesh temple, built in 1815 by Seth Gokuldas Parikh, Treasurer of Gwalior.

Tourism

Pilgrimage to
Buddha's Holy Sites
The Four Main Sites Bodh Gaya Kushinagar Lumbini Sarnath
Four Additional Sites Rajgir Sankissa Shravasti Vaishali
Other Sites Ajanta Amaravati Barabar Caves Bharhut Chandavaram Devdaha Ellora Caves Kapilavastu Kesaria Stupa Kosambi Lalitgiri Mathura Nalanda Nasik Pataliputra Pāvā Piprahwa Pushpagiri Ramagrama stupa Ratnagiri Sanchi Udayagiri Tilaurakot Varanasi Vikramashila

Tourism is still in a development stage in the city. There are quite a few places to visit in Mathura and its surroundings, most of them linked to the Hindu mythology. Major places are listed here:

Major tourist sites in Mathura

• Krishnajanmabhoomi
• Dwarikadheesh Temple
• Kans Kila
• Vishram Ghat (a bath and worship place on the banks of river Yamuna)

Places of interest around Mathura

• Barsana
• Nandgaon
• Gokul
• Baldeo
• Vrindavan
• Goverdhan
• RadhaKund
• Mant

Strategic Importance

Mathura is the home for Indian I Corps (Strike Formation) ^{[3] [4]} within the Indian Army's Central Command , hosting Strike I Corps headquarters in a large classified area in the outskirts of the city known as Mathura Cantonment (Central Command itself has its headquarters at Lucknow). It hosts Strike Infantry units, Air Defence units, Armoured Divisions, Engineer brigades, Aritillery Units and classified units of Strategic Nuclear Command. Corps I is primarily responsible for western borders of India. In 2007 during Exercise Ashwamedha, it had unleashed its armoured, artillery and infantry divisions in full flow to simulate operational ability of being prepared for high intensity, short duration and 'sudden' battles in an overall NBC (nuclear-chemical-biological) environment. ^[5]

Industries

Today Mathura is situated on very important Road and Train routes in India. The famous Delhi-Agra highway crosses Mathura, providing the city great connectivity. Also, the city houses a fairly large and important train station, named Mathura Junction. The city is home to the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Chennai train routes.

Mathura is home to a large, technologically-advanced oil refinery owned by the Indian Oil Corporation. This refinery is one of the largest oil refineries of Asia. On the industrial aspect, Mathura is home to a flourishing Silver polishing industry, textile printing industry involving in Sari-printing and Fabric dyeing. In addition to this, water tap factories are also flourishing in the area.

A very famous twin-city to Mathura is Vrindavan. The small town hosts a lot of temples belonging to various sects of Hinduism preaching Lord Krishna in various forms/avatars. Some of the most famous temples are Banke Bihari Temple, Rang ji Temple, Iskcon Temple.

Art of Mathura

• 
  The Indo-Scythian Mathura lion capital, 1st century CE.
• 
  Yaksa, 1st-2nd century CE
• 
  The Bodhisattva Maitreya, art of Mathura, 2nd century CE
• The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century CE.
  The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century CE.
• 
  The Bodhisattva Siddhartha Gautama, 2nd century CE.
• Buddha of the Gupta period, 5th century CE.
  Buddha of the Gupta period, 5th century CE.
• 
  Head of a Buddha, Gupta period, 6th century CE.

References

External links

• Template:Wikitravel
• Entry on Mathura in the Dictionary on Pali Proper Names
• Read details about Mathura
• Mathura-The Cultural Heritage. Edited by Doris Meth Srinivasan, published in 1989 by AIIS/Manohar.
• Bowker, John (2002). The Cambridge Illustrated History of Religions, p.60.
• Konow, Sten. Editor. 1929. Kharoshthī Inscriptions with Exception of those of Asoka. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. II, Part I. Reprint: Indological Book House, Varanasi, 1969.
• Mukherjee, B. N. 1981. Mathurā and its Society: The Śaka-Pahlava Phase. Firma K. L. M. Private Limited, Calcutta.
• Sharma, R. C. 1976. Mathura Museum and Art. 2nd revised and enlarged edition. Government Museum, Mathura.
• Growse, F. S. 1882. " Mathura A District Memoir.
• Drake-Brockman, D. L. 1911. " Muttra A Gaztteer.

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