Mathura TourDestinations

Mathura is the birthplace of the Lord Krishna and was the capital of the Surasena Kingdom, ruled by Kansa. In the 6th century BCE Mathura became the capital of the Surasena mahajanapada. The city was later ruled by the Maurya empire and the Sunga dynasty. 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 city was sacked and many of its temples destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 and again by Sikandar Lodhi, who ruled the Sultanate of Delhi from 1489 to 1517. The Keshav Dev Temple was partially destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who built the city’s Jami Masjid (Friday mosque) believed to be on the Kishna janma bhoomi. The garbh-griha mandir is a small underground temple which houses black moorti of Laddu-Gopal. The ambience of this Krishna janm bhoomi mandir has been made to resemble that of Prison cell. The bigger Krishna shrine, better known as Dwarkadeesh temple is a few metres away from what is believed to be the actual birthplace of Krishna, was built in 1815 by Seth Gokuldas Parikh, Treasurer of Gwalior.