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Mathura

Mathura is an important place of pilgrimage in India as it is the birth place of Lord Krishna,Mathura is a city in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately 50 km north of Agra.Mathura is one of the most sacred cities of Hinduism and is situated on the western banks of the Yamuna River. The thousands of devotees visit this place throughout the year. It lies at the heart of the Brajbhoomi, a land that is imbued with sanctity, for it was here that the young Krishna was nurtured. The little towns and hamlets in this area are still alive with the tales of his mischievous pranks, his extraordinary exploits and still seem to echo with the sound of his flute.Hindi, English and Brajbhasha are the main languages which are spoken in Mathura.

Mathura has an ancient history. According to the Archeological 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 demon that Shatrughan killed in Ramayana, Lavanasura 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 Pururavas and the celestial nymph Urvashi. The city might also have got its name from a famous Yadav king Madhu who reigned around 1,600 BCE.Mathura by burning the city, destroying the temples and various numerous jewel encrusted idols were carted off. Sikander Lodi did similar harm to the religious places in 1500 while the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb used a local revolt in which his governor was killed as an opportunity to destroy all the main temples. The present day Braj-bhoomi was resurrected by the passionate devotion of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya in the 16th century. The patronizing rule of Akbar helped seers and devotees redecorate the ancient Braj-bhoomi. The land was largely green, redolent with gardens, groves and lakes in which the Lord frolicked. As the Mughal Empire declined, Jats and Marathas jostled for control. As it lay on the main Dehi-Agra artery it had great strategic value. Its strategic location ensured its location as a centre of trade and a meeting point of the cultures.