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 Mathura Braj pronunciation:   is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 162 kilometres 101 mi south-east of Delhi; and about 15 kilometres 9.3 mi from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient times, Mathura was an economic hub, located at the junction of important caravan routes. The 2011 Census of India estimated the population of Mathura at 441,894.

In Hinduism, the birthplace of Krishna, one of the main deities in that religion, is believed to be located in Mathura at the Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex. It is one of the Sapta Puri, the seven cities considered holy by Hindus, also called the Mokshyadayni Tirth. The Kesava Deo Temple was built in ancient times on the site of Krishna's birthplace an underground prison. Mathura was the capital of the kingdom of Surasena, ruled by Kamsa, the maternal uncle of Krishna. Mathura is part of the Krishna circuit Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana, Govardhan, Kurukshetra, Dwarka and Bhalka. Krishna Janmashtami is grandly celebrated in Mathura every year.

Mathura has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.

History

See also: Mathura art

Traditionally it is believed that it was founded by Shatrughna after killing Yadava Lavana at the site of Madhuvana. According to Ramayana it was founded by Madhu a man of the Yadu tribe. Later on Madhu's son Lavanasura was defeated by Shatrughna.

Along the Ghats of Mathura c. 1880

General view of the excavations in January 1889 at Kankali Tila, Mathura

Statue of Kanishka I, second century CE, Mathura Museum

Sculpture of woman from ancient Braj-Mathura, c. second century CE

Mathura, which lies at the centre of the cultural region of Braj has an ancient history and is also believed to be the homeland and birthplace of Krishna, who belonged to the Yadu dynasty. According to the Archaeological Survey of India plaque at the Mathura Museum, the city is mentioned in the oldest Indian epic, the Ramayana. In the epic, the Ikshwaku prince Shatrughna slays a demon called Lavanasura and claims the land. Afterwards, the place came to be known as Madhuvan as it was thickly wooded, then Madhupura and later Mathura. The most important pilgrimage site in Mathura was Katra market place, now referred to as Krishna Janmasthan the birthplace of Krishna. Excavations at the site revealed pottery and terracotta dating to the sixth century BCE, the remains of a large Buddhist complex, including a monastery called Yasha Vihara of the Gupta period, as well as Jain sculptures of the same era.

Ancient history

Archaeological excavations at Mathura show the gradual growth of a village into an important city during the Vedic age. The earliest period belonged to the Painted Grey Ware culture 1100–500 BCE, followed by the Northern Black Polished Ware culture 700–200 BCE. Mathura derived its importance as a center of trade due to its location where the northern trade route of the Indo-Gangetic Plain met with the routes to Malwa central India and the west coast. Archaeologists have discovered a fragment of Mathura red sandstone from Rakhigarhi - a site of Indus Valley Civilisation dated to third millennium BCE - which was used as a grindstone; red sandstone was also a popular material for historic period sculptures.

By the sixth century BCE Mathura became the capital of the Surasena Kingdom. The city was later ruled by the Maurya empire fourth to second centuries BCE. Megasthenes, writing in the early third century BCE, mentions Mathura as a great city under the name Μέθορα Méthora. It seems it never was under the direct control of the following Shunga dynasty 2nd century BCE as not a single archaeological remain of a Shunga presence were ever found in Mathura.

The Indo-Greeks may have taken control, direct or indirect, of Mathura some time between 180 BCE and 100 BCE, and remained so as late as 70 BCE according to the Yavanarajya inscription, which was found in Maghera, a town 17 kilometres 11 mi from Mathura. The opening of the 3 line text of this inscription in Brahmi script translates as: In the 116th year of the Yavana kingdom... or In the 116th year of Yavana hegemony Yavanarajya However, this also corresponds to the presence of the native Mitra dynasty of local rulers in Mathura, in approximately the same time frame 150 BCE—50 BCE, possibly pointing to a vassalage relationship with the Indo-Greeks.