Mathura
Mathura is a holy city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately 50 km north of Agra, and 150 km south of Delhi; about twelve kilometers from holy Vrindavan. 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 reputed to be the birthplace of Krishna at the centre of Vraja, called Krishnajanmabhoomi, literary 'Krishna's birth place'. The Keshav Dev temple was built in ancient times on the site of Krishna's legendary birthplace (an underground prison). As per epic Mahabharata and per Bhagavata Purana, Mathura was the capital of the Surasena Kingdom, ruled by Kansa the maternal uncle of Krishna.
History
Mathura has an ancient history. As per the ASI plaque at Mathura museum, the city finds mention in the oldest epic Ramayana. In the epic, the Ikshwaku prince Shatrughna, slays a deamon called Lavanasur and claims the land in Aryan fold. The place hence came to be known as Madhuvan as it was thickly wooded, Madhupura and later Mathura. Deeper research shows us that the deamon that Shatrughan killed in Ramayana was Lavanasur who was the progeny of a devout king Madhu who gets Lord Shiva's Trident in a boon in the puranas. The Puranas ascribe the founding of the city to Ayu, the son of Pururuvas and celestrial nymph Urvashi. The city might also have got its name from a famous Yadav king Madhu who reigned in around 1600 BC. The city was sacked and many of its temples destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 and further by Sikandar Lodhi, who earned the epithet of But Shikan- The destroyer of idols. 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. It was won over from the Mughals by the Jat kings of Bharatpur but subsequently the area got passed on to the Marathas.The main Krishna shrine is presently the Dwarkadeesh temple, built in 1815 by Seth Gokuldas Parikh, Treasurer of Gwalior.
Major tourist sites in Mathura
- Krishna Janmabhoomi
- Keshav Dev Temple
- Dwarikadheesh Temple
- Durvasa Rishi Ashram
- Potra Kund
- Kans Tila
- Kans Samadhi
- Vishram Ghat (a bath and worship place on the banks of river Yamuna)
- Swami Laxminarayan Temple
- Jai Gurudev Temple
Vishram Ghat central of 25 ghats is the main Ghat in Mathura. After the Vadh of Kansa Shri Krishna and Balram Vishram (Rest) here so it is called SHREE VISHRAM GHAT. MATHUR CHATURVEDI who are the THIRTH PUROHIT OF BRIJ 84 KAUS are said to be son of SHREE YAMUNAJI(River Yamuna).
Industries
Today Mathura is situated on very important Road and Train routes in India. The famous Delhi-Agra highway (NH-2, National Highway -2)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. |
