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Mathura

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Population: 235,000
STD Code 0565

Mathura is an extremely important pilgrimage city where Lord Krishna was born 5,000 years ago. It is 150km south of Delhi and 14km from Vrindavan. Mathura is on the main train line between Delhi and Agra.

Mathura is the center of Braja Mandala. Its parikrama path is 15 km (9 miles). The two main places to visit here are Krishna Janmasthan (the appearance place of Krishna) and Vishram Ghata.

Many pastimes from the Srimad Bhagavatam and other Puranas took place in Mathura. Ambarish Maharaja waited at Ambarish-tila for Durvasa Muni to return, from being chased across the universe by Lord Vishnu’s disc (cakra). At Bali-tila, Bali Maharaja performed his great sacrifice to take over the universe. Lord Vamanadeva begged three steps of land from Bali Maharaja at this place. Narada Muni instructed Dhruva Maharaja in Mathura. Ravana performed austerities to acquire his mystic powers here. About 350m north of Visrama Ghata, on the bank of the Yamuna, is the old Kamsa Tila Fort.

“When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu approached Mathura and saw the city, He immediately fell to the ground and offered obeisances with great ecstatic love. When He entered the city of Mathura He took his bath at Visrama Ghata. He then visited the birthplace of Krishna and saw the Deity named Kesavaji. He offered His respectful obeisances to this deity. (Caitanya Caritamrita. Madhya-lila 17.155-156)

Orientation
Mathura is a fairly large and busy city. There are many places to visit in Mathura. If you are coming from Vrindavana you could first go of the Gokarnesvara Siva Temple in northeast Mathura. From there you could go to the Maha-vidya Devi temple, which is in northwest Mathura. From there it is a five minutes drive to Krishna Janmasthan, where Krishna appeared. Also near here is Potra Kunda and Jnana Vapi. Next you could go the Bhutesvara Siva and Patalesvari temples, which are right next to each other, about a five minute drive away in west Mathura.

You could then go next to Ranga Bhumi, the Rangesvara Siva Temple and the Keshava Gaudiya Math. All these places are on the same street, in south Mathura. Next you could go to Dhruva Ghata, which is in southeast Mathura, on the bank of the Yamuna.

From Dhruva Ghata you could go to Visrama Ghata, which is in east-central Mathura, on the bank of the Yamuna. Very close to Visrama Ghata is the Pippalesvara Siva temple. You could then walk around and visit the ghats in this area. There are 25 ghats in this area. Visrama Ghata is the most well known ghata and is the central ghata.

You could then go to the Dwarkadish Temple, which is a few minutes walk from Visrama Ghata. Next you could go to the Adi Varaha and Sveta Varaha temples, which are about a five minutes walk from the Dwarkadish Temple. In the center of Mathura are the Padmanabha Swayambhu Temple and Dirgha Vishnu Temple.

The railway station is in the extreme southern section of Mathura. There are two bus stations in Mathura. The Old Bus Stand is in south Mathura, near the Rangesvara temple. The New Bus Stand is in west Mathura, outside the main area of town.

Information and Tours
There is a Tourist Office on the first floor of a building in the back of the Old bus stand.
There is a daily tour to the towns of Vrindavan, Nandagram, Varsana, Govar-han Hill, Radha Kund, and Krishna Janmasthan that leaves from the Old bus stand at 6.30 am.

You can change money at the State Bank of India (407-647) on Railway Station Rd.

A good astrologer to see is Raghunath Jyotishi Pandit (Radha Mohan Das) who does astrology, palmistry and numerology. He is located at the Hotel Brij Bihar in Mathura. You should call him at 0565 404-209 for a appointment, as many days he is not in his office. He can also be contacted at 0565 403-243 between 8 to 10 am and 8 to 10 pm. He mainly deals with answering specific questions.

History
Mahmud of Ghazni sacked Mathura in 1017. At that time Mathura was considered one of the richest cities in the world. Both Sikander Lodi, in about 1500, and Aurangzeb, in 1669, destroyed temples in Mathura and Vrindavan. The Muslims would sometimes take the deities from the temple and bury them under the steps of a mosque.
The steps of the Nawab Kudsia Begum Mosque had deities taken from Mathura buried under its steps. After the British took over this part of India in 1803, no harm came to the temples or deities.

Boat Ride on the Yamuna River
You can take a peaceful and interesting boat ride on the Yamuna near Visrama Ghata. To visit the 25 ghats along the Yamuna takes about 45 minutes. To hire a boat for an hour should cost no more than Rs 75. You can hire a boat at several different places in the Ghata area near Visrama Ghata. For Rs 600 you can go to Gokula and back, which will take over six hours.

Parikrama of Mathura

Four Main Siva Temples in Mathura
Siva is the eternal guardian of the Braja Mandala area. Because he is the guardian you are supposed to ask his permission to be able to successfully circumambulate Braja Mandala. According to Vaishnavas, Lord Siva is considered to be the greatest Vaishnava.

There are four important Siva temples that surround Mathura that protect the four sides of Mathura, which are called the dik-pala (protectors) of Mathura. They are Gokarnesvara Mahadeva in the north, Pippalesvara Mahadeva in the east, Rangesvara Mahadeva in the south, and Bhutesvara Mahadeva in the west.

Pippalesvara Mahadeva Temple
In this temple is one of the Siva-linga dik-pala (protectors) of Mathura. This temple is just south of Visrama Ghata. It says in the Adi Varaha Purana that Lord Siva saved the sage Pippalada and therefore this Siva-linga got the name Pippalesvara (Lord of Pippalada).

Pippalesvara protects the eastern side of Mathura. People can go and touch this linga. There is a 2/3 metre (2 ft) high murti (statue) of the sage Pippalada worshiping Lord Siva in this temple.

How To Get Here This temple is on the road that runs along the bank of the Yamuna. It is a small yellow temple on the right, about 100m (330 ft) south of Visrama Ghata. Everyone knows where it is located.

Gokarnesvara Siva Temple
In this temple, there is a 1.3m (4 ft) tall murti of the sage Gokarna and a Siva-linga. This linga is the dik-pala (protector) of northern Mathura. It says in the Adi Varaha Purana that just by seeing Gokarnesvara, one gets rid of all sins.

The activities of the sage Gokarna are described in the Bhagavata-mahatmya section of the Padma Purana. One rishi could not get a child so he approached another rishi to get the benediction to get a child. The rishi gave him a fruit and told him to feed the fruit to his wife. The wife fed this fruit to a cow and a child, called Gokarna, was born. Gokarna was born from a cow who had eaten the sacrificial fruit offered by a brahmana. He was born with ears like a cow (go means “cow” and karna means “ears”). He spoke the Srimad Bhagavatam to his demoniac brother, and thus liberated his brother.

According to Narayana Bhatt, he was a sage (rishi) who received the vision of Krishna, after performing austerities here for eighteen years.
The samadhi of Gautama Rishi is said to be nearby.

How To Get Here This temple is located behind the All-India Radio Station in northeast Mathura. It is located in a quiet area of Mathura. To get here, first ask to go to the radio station.

Potra Kunda and Jnana Vapi
Potra Kunda is a large bathing tank near Janmabhumi. It is called Potra Kunda because it is said that Krishna’s diapers were washed in this tank. This banking tank has no water in it and is very deep. On the side of Potra Kunda, that is farthest from Krishna Janmasthan, is Jnana Vapi. This place is a fairly good-sized cave, about 10m (33 feet) underground, where Lord Caitanya stayed while He was in Mathura.

Jnana Vapi is located to your right, behind the property of the Guru-Govinda Gaudiya Math temple, down some old stone steps. There are also a Nitai-Gaura Temple and the Jnaneswara Mahadeva linga.

How To Get Here If you are on the main street facing the main Keshava Deo Temple complex, you make a left and walk about 100m (330 ft) and Potra Kunda is right in front of you. To get to Jnana Vapi you go around the kunda. When you see the kunda, after coming from the Keshava Deo Temple, you make a right and a left to go around the kunda. When you reach the end of the kunda you make another left and then a right. In front of you there may be some water (depending on the time of the year).

Bhutesvara Mahadeva Temple
This Siva-linga is the dik-pala protector of the western part of Mathura. Bhutesvara was worshiped by Kamsa according to the Skanda Purana. Bhutesvara means the “Lord of the ghost.”
Next to this temple, about 5m (15 ft) away, is a temple dedicated to Patalesvari-devi, the wife of Lord Bhutesvara. This temple is down some stairs. To see the deity in this temple you may need a flashlight (a torch), as there is no light in this temple and it is very dark. This temple of Patalesvari is one of the four main Devi temples in Braja Mandala. The other three are: Manasi Devi at Manasi Ganga in the town of Govardhana, Yoga Maya in Vrindavana and Vrinda Devi in Kamyavana.

How To Get Here This temple is in west Mathura. It is about a kilometre away from Krishna Janmasthan, the appearance place of Lord Krishna.

Dwarkadish Temple
The Dwarkadish Temple, built in 1814, is a popular temple in the center of town. This is the most visited temple in Mathura. This temple is managed by followers of Vallabhacarya, by the Pusti-marg Gosvamis. In this temple there is a Deity of a four-armed form of Krishna known as Dwarkadhish or Dwarikanathaji (Lord of Dwarka), with a Deity of Rukmini by his side. Dwarka is located at the westernmost end of Gujarat and is where Krishna ruled as the king.
It is fairly interesting architecturally and there is a lot of activity inside. The walls and ceiling are beautifully painted with pastimes of Krishna.

How To Get Here This temple is a few minutes walk from Visrama Ghata, off a busy road. Everyone knows where this temple is located. It is located in the eastern part of Mathura, not far from the Yamuna River.

 

 

Rangesvara Mahadeva Temple
Nearby Ranga Bhumi is the Rangesvara Mahadeva Temple, which houses the Siva-linga worshiped by Kamsa before the wrestling match. Rangesvara is the southern dik-pala protector of Mathura. This temple is the most visited of the dik-palas Siva temples.

How To Get Here This temple is located close the Old Bus Stand. It is located off the main road, down a path with shops on both sides. Most people know where this temple is located. If you want to come to the places in this area, it is a good idea to ask to first come to this temple. This is because most people know this temple, but not the other places in the area.

 

Padmanabha Swayambhu Temple
There is a self-manifested Deity of Lord Vishnu in this temple. Swayam means “Himself” and bhu means “born”. Lord Caitanya is said to have had darshan of this Deity in 1515. This deity is in a house-like temple.

How To Get Here This is a hard temple to find. To find this place it seems that you have to ask for the Padmanath Deity. This temple is located down a side road off Kotwali Road between Bharatpura Gate and Holi Gate. This road goes north from Kotwali road. The road you go down has a steel beam over the road, to make sure that vehicles that are too high do not enter this road. There is a basket shop next to this road. When you get on this road you walk north about 325m (four minutes) and you will see a pinkest, simply carved, good-sized doorway. From the outside, this place looks like someone’s house. Also, once you are inside it looks like someone’s house.

Dirgha Vishnu Temple
After breaking the sacrificial bow, that was to be used for the sacrifice called the Dhanur-yajna, Krishna displayed the Dirgha Vishnu form to assure His companions that he would easily defeat Kamsa. The Dirgha Vishnu form that He showed was huge. Dirgha means “large.” After seeing this form the family members and friends of Krishna became relieved of any anxiety and they became sure that Krishna would be victorious. Krishna expanded His form just like Vamana expanded his size to take up the entire universe.

It is also said that when Krishna came to see Kamsa, He increased His size to reach Kamsa, who was sitting high on his throne.

The Deity in this temple is a black Deity of Lord Vishnu holding a club, conchshell, disc, and lotus. It is mentioned in the Caitanya Caritamrita (Madhya 17.191) that Lord Caitanya came here when he visited Mathura.

How To Get Here The Dirgha Vishnu Temple is on the same road as Bharatpura Gate. This temple is north of Bharatpura Gate; about ten minutes walk from the Bhuteswara Temple.

Kubja Kupa
This is said to be the house of Kubja. Krishna came to the house of Kubja to fulfill His promise to visit her. There is a sacred well here.

How To Get Here This place is in southeast Mathura, down a side road from the Government

College (school), near a bridge for the Mathura-Hathras railway line. You can get here by going out the back entrance of the Rangeswara Mahadeva temple and this place is several minutes away.

Durvasa Muni’s Ashrama
Durvasa Muni performed austerities opposite Visrama Ghata, on the other side of the Yamuna, at Visanaganja. Durvasa Muni being pleased by services rendered to him by Srimati Radharani gave her the benediction that whatever she cooked would be sweeter than nectar.

“Durvasa Muni was a powerful mystic brahmana determined to observe the principles of religion with great vows and under strict austerities. His name is associated with many historical events, and it appears that the great mystic could be easily satisfied and easily annoyed, like Lord Siva. When he was satisfied, he could do tremendous good to the servitor, but if he was dissatisfied he could bring about the greatest calamity. It is understood that he was a plenary incarnation of Lord Siva, and thus he could be either easily satisfied or annoyed. He was a great devotee of Lord Siva. He could travel a great distance through space, even up to the Vaikuntha planets beyond material space. He traveled all these long distances within one year, during his quarrel with King Ambarish, the great devotee and emperor of the world.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.15.11, purport)

How To Get Here This place is on the other side of the Yamuna River from Mathura, in Isapur. You go over the bridge in Mathura and go about 1km east. There is a dirt road on the left, which you go down for about 1km, which ends near this place. You can also take a boat across the river at Visrama Ghata to this place. It is then about a five-minute walk to this place, about 300m.

The Government Archaeological Museum
Mathura has an excellent museum which has many ancient sculptures of Lord Krishna and Vishnu, some dating from the Kushana and Gupta periods. It has almost 10,000 exhibits many of them dating before the time of Christ. Many of the sculptures here are also of Buddha, which include a famous 5th century standing Buddha. Many ancient sculptures in museums throughout India and in London are originally from Mathura. This museum is located on Museum Road by Dampier Park and is open daily except Mon and government holidays from 10 am to 4.30 pm. From the middle of April to the end of June it is open from 8 am to 12.30 pm; free.

Where to Eat
Most of the places in Mathura are cheap vegetarian places.
Bhojanalaya vegetarian restaurant at the International Guest House, is located next to Sri Krishna Janmasthan. Open 11 am to 3 pm and 7 to 10 pm.
Brijraj, across from Sri Krishna Janmasthan, serves snacks and dosas.
Brijwasi Mithai Wala, across from Sri Krishna Janmasthan, has good sweets and snacks.
Hotel Madhuvan, Krishna Nagar, has Indian and Chinese food. It is one of the best places in town.

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