Introduction
Mathura (270 31’ N: 770 14’
E), head-quarter of the district of same name, is situated on the bank of River Yamuna.
Sir Alexander Cunningham has identified the ancient city of Mathura with
Kesavapura-mahalla of the modern Mathura city. Almost all of the traditional or
literary accounts refer to Mathura’s position close to the River Yamuna. Hence
the identification of present Mathura on the west bank of River Yamuna with the
historical town is almost certain. The ruins of the city are spread over an
extensive area of 3.5 sq. km. A massive mud wall, forming a longish crescent on
plan on three sides of the city, fortifies it with Yamuna river on the east. There
are rail-tracks and metal road cutting through the ancient settlement.
The Bhagavata religion, the parent of modern Vaishnavism,
along with Buddhism and Jainism together formed the city of Mathura a sacred
place. In the first and second centuries, Mathura developed as a distinctive
school of Sculptural style and terracotta art, which soon became a world class.
The city was connected with the trade routes. Moreover, the city has a long
history starting with the Puranic age to the modern days through the Greek,
Saka-Satrap and Kushan periods. It throws light on a spectrum of events and cultures
of ancient India of worth studying.
Archaeological
importance of the site can be apprehended from the valuable collection of
coins, terracottas, inscriptions and stone sculptures recovered time to time
from the surface and occasional diggings. Many of these are housed in the
Mathura museum. The presence of Painted Grey ware and Northern Black Polished
ware sherds further stretch back the antiquity of this site by centuries.
Literary
Evidences and Historical Background
Mathura is famous for the birthplace of Lord Krishna, who killed his
maternal uncle and the unruly king Kamsa to free his mother Devaki and father
Vasudeva from the jail. It is a sacred place of Vaishnavism and great centre of
Buddhism and Jainism as well. Mathura is variously mentioned as Madhura or north Mathura, Mathula, Mahura, Madhupuri, Madhupura, etc. It is mentioned in the
Ramayana of Valmiki, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The city was also known
as Madhuvan as
it was thickly wooded and then Madhupura
and later Mathura. The Puranas
ascribe the founding of the city to Ayu, the son of Pururavas and
the celestial nymph Urvashi. Besides, it has made its way into the Astaddyayi,
Mahabhasya and Yoginitantra. However, there is no mention of this city in the
Vedic literature. The Greeks called this city as Methora and Madoura, the
city of gods. The Chinese pilgrims Fa-hien and Huien Tsang mentioned it as Ma-t’aou-lo
or the peacock city and Mo (Mei)-t’u-lo, respectively. Arrian and
Ptolemy also mention about this city. The Jains knew it as Sauripura or Suryapura.
Fa-hien saw many monasteries full of monks at Mathura and Huien Tsang found it
to be 5000 li and the capital about 20 li in circuit.
Mathura was the capital of Surasena
country. Rama’s brother Satrughna built it after killing the Yadava Lavana at
the site of Madhuvana. He ruled over Mathura along with his two sons Suvahu and
Surasena. Afterwards the country was called Surasena. According to the
Mahabharata and the Puranas, Yadu or Yadava clans ruled over Mathura. Ugrasena
and Kamsa were the kings of Mathura, which was ruled by Andhakas descendants.
In the 6th century
BCE Mathura became the capital of the Surasena mahajanapada.
The Nagas and Yayudheyas reigned at Mathura before Samudragupta subjugated
them. The Hindu kings of Mathura were finally ousted by Hagana, Hagamasa,
Rajuvala and other Saka Satraps around first century AD. In the second century
AD Mathura was ruled by the Kushans under the Huviska and was the capital city.
Kanishka had hosted the third Buddhist council here. During the Kushan rule, art
and culture of Mathura flourished to its pinnacle and is now known as “Mathura
School of Art”. A headless statue of Kanishka is displayed in the Mathura
Museum.
The early
inscriptional mention of Mathura is found in Sohgaura plates and Hathigumpha
inscription. The findings of ancient stone inscriptions in brahmi at Maghera, a
town 17 km from Mathura throws welcome light on the historical importance
of this city. The Buddhist rail-pillar inscriptions at Mathura mark a
transition from the Asokan Prakrit to the typical mixed Sanskrit of the
Kushan age. The Mathura Lion Capital, an Indo-Scythian sandstone
capital in crude style, dated to the 1st century AD, describes in kharosthi the
gift of a stupa with
a relic of the Buddha, by Queen Nadasi Kasa, the wife of the Indo-Scythian ruler
of Mathura, Rajuvula. The capital also mentions the genealogy of several
Indo-Scythian satraps of Mathura.
Destruction and
construction of Temples
The city of Mathura was ransacked and temples were destroyed by
Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 and later by Sikander Lodhi, who ruled the
Sultanet of Delhi from 1489 to 1517 and was given the soubriquet of 'But
Shikan', the 'Destroyer of Hindu deities'. The Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb, built the city's Jami Masjid (Friday mosque). The Dwarkadhesh
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.
Krishna Janmasthan or Kesava Dev Temple is the
sacred place of Hindus as it is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. According
to traditions, the original deity was installed by Bajranabh, who was
great-grandson of Krishna. This temple is considered as a monument
of Gupta Period (320 to 550 AD), which was destroyed in 1661 AD
by Aurangzeb. It was built in Mathura over the prison, which was
believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. In contemporary memory, it was
built by Raja Vir Singh Bundela of Orchaa during the reign of Jehangir.
The Rajput prince enjoyed a special favour with the Mughal on account of his
support to Jehangir in his succession.
The great temple of Keshava Rai at Mathura was built by Vir
Singh Deo Bundela during Jahangir’s time at a cost of rupees 33 lakhs. The
Dehra of Keshava Rai was one of the most magnificent temples ever built in
India and enjoyed veneration of Hindus throughout the land. Prince Dara Shukoh
had presented a carved stone railing to the temple which was installed in front
of the deity; the devotees used to stand outside this railing to have a look (darshan) of Keshava Rai. The railing was
removed on Aurangzeb’s orders in October 1666. The Dehra of Keshava Rai was demolished
in the month of Ramzan (13 January – 11 February 1670) by Aurangzeb.
In 1815, the East India Company auctioned the area
of Katra Keshavadeva, which
was purchased by the then Raja Patnimal of Benaras. Although the Raja of
Benaras wanted to build a temple here, his wish remained unfulfilled and
the family had to fight several legal battles for ownership of the land
with Muslim community of Mathura. In 1944, Madan Mohan Malaviya was
distressed at the plight of the site and arranged for purchase of the land from
Raja Krishna Das of Benaras, who sold the land only at paltry Rs. 13,000/-
recovering just the cost of court battles. After the death of Malaviya, Jugal
Kishor Birla of Birla group decided to fulfil the wishes of
Malviya and formed a private trust in 1951 to which the rights of land were
transferred. Jaidayal Dalmia of Dalmia group also played a pivotal
role in the construction of temple. The construction of the temple was
completed in 1965 at a cost Rs. 15 million.
Next to the temple, within the complex is a small room
that looks like a prison cell, where it is said that Lord Krishna was born. The
excavation of this site began in 1953 under the chairmanship of Swami
Akhandanada and later under supervision of Babulal Bajaj and Phool Chand
Khandelwal the prison complex was completed in 1982.
Archaeological Backdrop
The site of
Mathura underwent first systematic excavations by the Archaeological Survey of
India in 1954-55 under the joint effort of M. Venktaramayya and B. Saran. The
small-scale excavation at Katra mound brought to light five successive periods
bracketed from 600 BC to 600 AD. B.K. Thappar, M.C. Joshi and C. Margabandhu of
Archaeological Survey of India carried out the second excavation in large scale
from 1973-74 to 1976-77. The objectives of the excavation were to examine the
antiquity, growth and character of the city. The following cultural periods
were found at the site.
Period I—c.600 BC to closing of 400 BC
Period II—closing of 400 BC to c. 200 BC
Period III—c. 200 BC to end of 100 BC
Period IV—Beginning of 100 AD to 3rd century AD
Period V—c.400 AD to end of 600 AD
Period I: The Beginning
This period has
been divided into two sub-periods—IA and IB. The earliest settlers who lived
right on the natural soil and inside the huts with mud floors represent the
Period IA. The people used Painted Grey ware and Red ware. A few Black slipped
ware, some fragments of inferior Black-and-Red ware and plain Grey ware were
also recovered from this level. The Painted Grey ware comprised bowl and dish
of usual fabric and form with paintings in black and rarely in white. The
noteworthy designs are groups of parallel horizontal lines between two
verticals, latticed frames and hook-shaped curve around spirals. Other objects
of interest are terracotta discs in plain and decorated variety; ghata-shaped
beads, fragment of a conch, a bone arrowhead, a terracotta amulet and two
broken styli.
In Phase Ib, the
people slightly improved their living-style. The huts are now made on extant
mud platforms. However, no major change in ceramics except the introduction of
Northern Black Polished ware is witnessed. Some of these are thicker in
cross-section and have steel-black lustrous exterior and unslipped red
interior. Other important findings are—an ear-stud of translucent greenish
glass; terracotta gamesmen, bone-arrowheads; figurine of a terracotta bird, a torso
and a decorated hind part of an animal, an imperforated gadrooned bead, ghata-shaped
beads and terracotta discs. Beads of semiprecious stones and terracotta
figurines suggested some kind of contact of the local people with area outside
the Mathura region.
Period II: Urbanization
This period is
marked by proliferation of the settlement to an area about 3.9 sq. km and
building of a massive defence mud wall around the settlement in a longish
crescent shape. In a cutting of mud fortification two distinct phases have been
noted. On the basis of objects and punch-marked copper coins, its construction
may be ascribed to the early part of Period II. Originally with a height of
about 6.5m the mud defence wall is built of several compact fillings of earth and
kankar over the undulating ground. The remains of houses are noted in
the form of mud platforms and floors associated with ring-wells. Remains of
drains formed by soakage jars are also noticed. The mud platforms at times have
facings of large burnt bricks.
The important
objects of this period comprised punch-marked coins of copper, terracotta human
and animal figurines, toy wheels, gamesmen, decorated discs, bangles and beads
of semiprecious stones and bone arrowheads and skin-rubbers. A legged-quern
carved with triratna motif, stone pestles and a variety of copper and
iron objects are noteworthy. Among the figurines mention may be made of a
damaged head of an elephant with lustrous slip bearing paintings in the
Northern Black Polished ware tradition, different types of mother goddess
figurines, terracotta figurines of monkeys, elephants and a vrsavyala in
grey colour or black slip with paint. A significant find is a hoard of 24 beads
of amethyst and topaz in a miniature pot. The ceramics of this period comprised
Northern Black Polished ware and associated wares including plain Grey ware.
Period III: Urban Refinement
In this period the settlement was confined within the defunct
fortification wall. In the early level, the houses were made of mud and had mud
platforms and rammed floors in some cases paved with brickbats. In the later
level both mud bricks and burnt bricks were used in construction. Some large
houses had brick paved courtyards with bricks on edge border. Sometimes the
floors were plastered with lime. The roofs of the houses were covered with
tiles. Some channel-shaped ovens were found. The ring wells had lost their
popularity in this period.
This period marked
the last phase of Northern Black Polished ware, which showed a greater
popularity with the utilitarian forms. The Red ware constituted bowls, lids,
vases, storage jars and basins. The plain Grey ware also continued with dishes
having dark slip.
There were
inscribed coins issued by the Indo-Greeks and Mathura rulers found. Among the
seals recovered from excavations important are—one in shell reading I(n)chayasa
and other in terracotta with triratna-headed standard within a railing
and a svastika with legend yupalathikasa on a side.
Other objects
constituted querns, pestles, bone arrowheads, borers and styluses, decorated
wheels, toy cart frames and terracotta skin-rubbers. Beads of semiprecious
stones and terracotta ghata-shaped beads and arecanut beads in
particular were popular. Some copper objects including thin and short rods with
thickened ends were recovered.
The terracotta art
of this period though not very rich comprised terracotta plaques of human
figurines prepared out of single-sided mould and handmade animal figurines. The
terracotta plaques of interest are a female, a flute-player and an amorous
couple. Besides, a terracotta bullock cart and a toy cart frame were
noteworthy. A solitary stone sculpture of frontal part of a lion was embedded
on a floor of the latest phase of this period.
Period IV: Cosmopolitan
This period witnessed significant structural development. The
defunct defence wall was revived and enlarged. An inner fortification, roughly
quadrilateral in shape with semi-circular bastions and a moat on the western
and northwestern side was built in the northern area of Katra mound. It was
built of mud and was strengthened by a short retaining wall of broken and over
burnt bricks, tiles, clay lumps, etc. The width and height of this wall varied
from 22 to 40cm and 80cm to one metre respectively. The maximum basal width of
inner fortification was about 17m.
The houses were
constructed of mud, baked bricks and brickbats, sometimes on raised platforms.
Floors were paved with compact mud, lime nodules and bricks. Roofs were tiled.
Stone buildings were confined to religious establishments.
In the immediate
neighbourhood of the walled city, probably tanks and wells were built for the
use of travellers and public as suggested by the inscriptional records. An
impressive brick-built complex was exposed at the site of the Jaina establishment
of Kankali Tila, a few hundred metres outside the mud fortification. This water
reservoir was constructed in four phases. Burnt bricks of various sizes—40 x 25
x 5 cm, 30 x 26 x 4cm and 30 x 17 x 5 cm—were used in the construction. The
reservoir was dug into the natural soil to a depth of 3.96m in a rectangular
shape. It had a ramp in the east and irregular oblong ancillary compartments
along its north and south sides. On top of its north wall a stone channel is
provided as an inlet for filling it up with water. The first constructional
phase of the tank can be ascribed to the first half of the first century AD.
The ceramic
industry was represented by Red ware with vases, storage jars, bowls, basins,
lids, spouted jars, etc. The pots were decorated with stamped designs like
fish, triratna, swastika, srivatsa, hamsa, sankha,
etc. Besides, floral and geometric designs were very common. A Red polished
ware with thin-section was present in limited number, which included only
sprinklers.
The notable objects
recovered from this period are terracotta votive tanks, seals and sealings,
coins, bone points, terracotta skin rubbers, animal-headed gamesmen, spindle
whorls, human and animal figurines prepared by single or double moulds,
including a Yaksi in typical Mathura art tradition. Other interesting
terracotta figurines were Vamanakas—some
of which were glazed, a Saka or Kushan soldier, a princely male, females,
Nagas, Bodhisattva Maitreya and Gaja Laksmi. Stone sculptures of two stale
depicting scenes from the life of Buddha, a flaming Buddha image, a head of
royal statue with several tiny Buddha figures on the crown; a head with
moustache, curly hair and sikha—most probably of Kubera, forepart of an
elephant and a lion, a salabhanjika figure and fragments of sucis
reflected the contemporary artistic excellence. Human-shaped pendant with a
peculiar interesting headdress and beads of semiprecious stones were some other
noteworthy findings.
Period V
This period is characterised by traces of mud platforms with walls
on the top and floors of mud and sukhi. The ceramics were cruder
varieties. Some were painted and moulded with artistic decorations. The common
shapes were bowl, basin, vase, sprinkler, etc. A Buddha head, in Mathura Art
tradition, an image of Vishnu with head missing, fragments of a prabha-mandala,
terracotta figurines in Gupta style and embossed figurines of Ganga on a
potsherd constituted the important findings.
Present
Condition of the City
The city has been expanded so much
that it is a herculean task now to trace the ancient fortified city. However, patches
of ancient mounds, broken architectural panels, statues and other antiquities
can be noticed as one moves (within the triangular area of Gokarneswar temple
on the north, Kankali tila on the west and Saptarsi tila on the south) in the
nooks and corners of the city. The only protected and well-preserved mound is
the Kankali tila, which has been fenced by the Archaeological Survey of India.
The mounds which have been present in patches at different places, basically
properties of temples or ashramas, are been destroyed for construction or
extension of buildings. Want for public awareness, Government apathy and
relentless encroachments have been detrimental in the preservation of the
ancient site.
Urgent steps to be taken
- Immediate proactive steps to be taken to identify and arrest
further destruction of the places with ancient remains.
- Attention to be given to restore and preserve the buildings,
forts and excavated structures at different places.
- Wherever possible, lands with ancient remains should be
acquired or preserve the site for future investigation.
How to reach Mathura
The city of Mathura is situated in the North Indian state of Uttar
Pradesh. The city is well connected by road and railway. It is located
approximately 50 km north of Agra, 145 km south-east of Delhi and about 11 km
from the town of Vrindavan and 22 km from Govardhan.
References
- Doris Meth Srinivasan (ed.),
Mathura: The Cultural Heritage (New Delhi, Manohar Publication, 1989).
- Ashok Gosh (Ed.), ‘An
Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology’, Vol. I-II (New Delhi, Munsiram
Manoharlal Publishers, 1989).
- B.C. Law, ‘Historical Geography of
Ancient India’, (New Delhi, Munsiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1984).
- Indian Archaeology—A Review:
1973-74, 74-75, 75-76
- http://en.wikipedia.org/
Acknowledgement
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