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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.
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.
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-dhan 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.
Most of the temples are closed between 1 and 4 pm.
A good astrologer to see is Raghunatha Yogi (Radha Mohan Das)
who does astrology, palmistry and numerology. He is located
at the Hotel Brij Bihar in Mathura. You should call him at 404-209 for
a appointment. One person told me that Raghunatha Yoga answered the
question that he had come to ask before he asked the question and when
Raghunatha Yogi answered the question he mentioned the person's name
that he was asking about without him telling Raghunatha Yogi the person's
name. He is iniated by His Holiness Kesava Maharaja.
Krishna Janmasthan
The temple here is called the Keshava Deo Temple (1965). Lord Keshava,
one of the four presiding Deities of Braja, was installed here by Vajranabha,
but the original Deity was moved to Rajdhani, a small village near Kanpur.
The central Deities in the temple are Radha-Keshava. On the left altar,
by the entrance door, are Lord Jagannath, Balarama, and Subhadra, being
looked at by Sri Chaitanya. On the right altar are Sita, Rama, and Laksman.
Across from them is Hanuman.
The Deities can be viewed from April to October 5 am to 12 noon and
4 pm to 9 pm and from November to March 5.30 am to 12 noon and 3 pm
to 8 pm.
There have been several major temples built on this site. The
first temple here was constructed almost 5,000 years ago by Vajranabha,
the great-grandson of Lord Krishna. The next big temple was constructed
here during the time of the Gupta Emperor Chandragupta Vikra-maditya
around 400 AD. This temple was so grand that it was said that neither
painting nor description could describe it. Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed
this temple.
Another temple was built here in 1150. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited
this temple. It was destroyed in the 16th century during the reign of
Sikander Lodi.
During the reign of Jahangir, Raja Veer Singh Bundela of Orchha constructed
another temple about 75m (250 ft) high at the cost of Rs 3.3 million.
In 1669 Aurangzeb destroyed this temple and had a mosque, which is still
here, built from the materials of the temple.
Next to the temple is a small room that looks like a prison cell, where
it is said that Lord Krishna appeared. Aurangzeb’s mosque is directly
next to the temple, but it is normally closed.
Others say that Krishna’s appearance place is about 250m away,
at a small temple near Potra Kund. At this other temple
there are deities of Vasudeva, Devaki, and four-armed Krishna. Darshan
is from 8 am to 7.30 pm. Just behind this place is Jnana Vapi where
Sri Chaitanya stayed while in Mathura.
Yamuna River and Visrama Ghat
The Yamuna River is lined with several ghats. It is a nice peaceful
place to walk around. You can rent a boat here and take a pleasant ride
on the river. A boat should cost less than Rs 50 for an hour.
The most important ghat is Visrama Ghat, which is
where Krishna rested after killing King Kamsa. It is said that Lord
Varaha also rested here after killing Hiranyaksa. There are
5,000-year-old deities of Yamuna Devi and her brother Yamaraja here.
Every day there is a Sunset Arati offered to the Yamuna
River.
The Sati Burj (16th century), a red sandstone tower
with a dome, is said to have been built to commemorate the sati of the
wife of the Maharaja of Amber (Jaipur).
A km north of Visrama Ghat on the riverbank, is Kamsa Qila,
an old fort that is now in ruins. Raja Man Singh of Amber (Jaipur) built
it.
Not far from Visrama Ghat is the Dwarkadish Temple,
built in 1814. It is a very popular temple dedicated to Lord Krishna.
Archaeological Museum
Mathura has an excellent museum which has many ancient sculptures of
Lord Krishna and Vishnu. Many of the sculptures here are also of the
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.
Other Places
Many pastimes from the Srimad Bhagavatam and other Puranas took place
in Mathura. Ambarish Maharaja waited at Ambarish-tila
in Mathura for Durvasa Muni to return from being chased by Lord Vishnu’s
disc. At Bali-tila, Bali Maharaja performed his great
yajna (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.
Where to Stay
International Guest House (405-888), right next to Sri Krishna Janmasthan,
has clean double room with bath for Rs 140 and very basic rooms for
Rs 35/60. There is a vegetarian restaurant called Bhojanalaya in the
guest house.
Hotel Brijraj (406-232), opposite Sri Krishna Janmasthan, has good,
clean, smallest rooms with hot water for Rs 225 and Rs 350 for a room
with A/C. A room without hot water is Rs 175.
Hotel Nepal (404-308), Delhi Rd, opposite the New bus stand, has decent
rooms with common bath for Rs 200, with private bath for Rs 250, and
a bigger room with an air cooler for Rs 350.
UPSTDC Tourist Bungalow is at Civil Lines, Bypass Rd.
Agra Hotel (403-318), Bengali Ghat, has a fairly decent room with hot
water and a view of the Yamuna for Rs 450. Rooms without a view are
Rs 350. This hotel is right next to the Yamuna, about a six-minute walk
from Visrama Ghat.
Kwality Hotel (406-195), near the Old bus stand, has double rooms for
Rs 250. It is run-down.
Modern Guest House, opposite the Old bus stand, is a basic place with
rooms from Rs 130/160 up to Rs 150/200. The rooms are all right, but
they have very small windows, if you can call them that.
Hotel Brij Bihar (404-209), Yamuna Market, Tilak Dwar, down the street
from the Old bus stand, has single rooms for Rs 200 and double rooms
for Rs 230. The rooms here are decent.
Gaurav Guest House (406-192), 100m south of the Government Museum, has
rooms with common bath for Rs 100/150, rooms with bath for Rs 200/250
and Rs 400 with TV.
Hotel Sanjay Palace (407-867), Sanjay Market, Arya Samaj Rd, near Holi
Gate, has decent single rooms with common bath for Rs 125 and double
rooms for Rs 250 with bath. They also have rooms with air-coolers and
A/C.
Hotel Surya (408-344) has good rooms for Rs 350/450.
Mansarovar Palace (408-686; 401-611), State Bank Crossing, has modern
rooms for Rs 650/750 and Rs 750/1100 with A/C.
Hotel Madhuvan (420-064; fax 420-684), Krishna Nagar, is one of the
best places in town. It has a pool and good modern rooms for Rs 750/950
and Rs 900/1100 with A/C.
The 3-star Best Western Radha Ashok (405-557; fax: same), Masani Byepass
Rd, a little out of town, is a first-class, well-managed place with
rooms for $55 and suites for $75. It has good, modern rooms with central
air-conditioning. This place is about a 20-minute car ride from Vrindavan.
It is the best hotel in the area.
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.
Travel
Mathura is 145km southeast of Delhi and 50km northwest of Agra.
Air The closest major airport is in New Delhi (3½
hr, 150km).
Train Mathura is a major stop on the Delhi–Agra
and Delhi–Mumbai broad-gauge lines. It is a hectic station, so
it is hard to miss. From Delhi it takes two to four hours, usually three,
to reach Mathura.
Many trains depart each day for Mathura from both the New Delhi train
station, by Connaught Place, and the Nizamuddin train station. Trains
leave more often from the New Delhi Station, but the Nizamuddin station
is closer to the airport. If you take an evening train (after 5 pm)
it may be difficult to get a seat, and you cannot purchase an A/C-class
ticket.
If you want to travel higher class to Mathura in the evening you can
purchase a second-class ticket and get on an A/C carriage. You can then
ask the ticket collector or the train conductor if you can upgrade your
ticket to a higher class. They will often allow this. A second-class
unreserved ticket from Delhi to Mathura is Rs 42. This class is very
crowded and uncomfortable. When you get on the train you can pay an
extra Rs 40 and ride in the second-class sleeper class, which is less
crowded.
From Mathura many trains go to and from Agra (1 hr). There are direct
trains to Jaipur (6 hr), Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Ujjain (12
hr), Mumbai, Calcutta (32 hr), Ahmedabad, and Baroda.
The Toofan Exp #3008 (11 am) goes to Calcutta (32 hr) via Allahabad
(12 hr). The Malwa Express #4668 (8.20 pm) goes to Ujjain (12½
hr). The Kalinga-Utkal Exp #8478 (3.35 pm) goes to Puri. The Jammu-Ahmedabad
Sarvodaya #2474 (12 midnight) takes 14½ hours to get to Ahmedabad.
There are several trains to Vadodara and Mumbai.
There are direct trains to Chennai (35 hr), Hyderabad (33 hr), Visakhapatnam
(44½ hr), and Vijayawada (28 hr). The Kerala Exp #2626 goes to
Thiruvananthapuram (1.30 pm, 53½ hr). The #5314 Exp (7 pm) goes
to Lucknow (14 hr) via Sitapur.
The only train from Jaipur to Mathura is the Jodhpur-Varanasi Marudhar
Exp #2464 (3.20 pm, 5½) which arrives in Mathura at 8.50 pm.
The Varanasi-Jodhpur Marudhar Exp #4863 departs Mathura at 6.45 am,
and arrives in Jaipur at 12.20 pm.
Bus There are two bus stations in Mathura. From the
Old bus stand, buses depart to Agra (hourly), Vrindavan, Haridwar (9
hr), and to the town of Govardhan. A semi-luxury bus goes to Haridwar
(10 pm, 8 hr).
From the New bus stand, a couple of km west of the Old bus stand, buses
depart to Delhi (3½ hr, Rs 40), Jaipur (6 hr, Rs 70, almost every
hour), Bharatpur (1½ hr, Rs 30, every hour), and Agra (1 hr,
every half-hour). A luxury bus goes to Jaipur at 10.30 pm. For Delhi
there are deluxe buses (Rs 70) that come from Agra, and if there is
a seat available when it reaches Mathura, you can get a seat.
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