Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi: Lord Shankar is Adi Dev. Ram of Treta Yug. Krishna of Dwapar Yug. Rama and Krishna are considered to be incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh are mentioned in the Sanatan tradition. The question has started to arise that after implementing its agenda of Ayodhya and Kashi, has the saffron party set its eyes on Mathura? Because Amit Shah is busy organizing a big rally in Mathura. Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad has to say that, ‘Ayodhya, Kashi grand temple construction is going on, preparations are on for Mathura.’ Sometimes these three places are called the power centers of the BJP.
Like Ayodhya and Kashi, there is also a dispute regarding the birthplace of Lord Krishna in Mathura. This temple has been demolished thrice and rebuilt four times. Even now there is a dispute going on in the court between the two parties for the ownership of this place. Idgah is built on half of the Janmabhoomi.
Historians are of the opinion that the place where Lord Krishna was born, there used to be a prison earlier. The first temple here was built in 80-57 BC. In this regard, it is known from an inscription of the time of Mahakshatrap Saudas that a person named ‘Vasu’ had built this temple. Much later, the second temple was built during the reign of Vikramaditya. But in 1017-18 Mahmud Ghaznavi broke this temple. The temple was built again after 32 years under the rule of Maharaja Vijaypal Dev. The temple was demolished by Sikandar Lodi in the early 16th century.
About 125 years later, during the reign of Jahangir, King Veer Singh Dev Bundela of Orchha built the temple for the fourth time at this place. But Aurangzeb destroyed it in 1660 and made a big Idgah on half of the Janmabhoomi with its building material, which is still present today. Behind this Idgah, a temple was established with the inspiration of Mahamana Pandit Madanmohan Malviya, but now it has become a disputed area, because there is Idgah on half of the Janmabhoomi and the temple on the other half.
The remains found here show that a high walled wall existed around this temple. A well was also built in the south west corner of the temple. The water from this well was taken up to a height of 60 feet and used to feed the fountain built in the temple premises. The remains of that well and bastion are still present at this place. Historian Dr. Vasudev Sharan Agarwal has considered Katra Keshavdev as the birthplace of Krishna. On the basis of various studies and evidence, Krishnadutt Vajpayee of Political Museum of Mathura has also accepted that Katra Keshavdev is the real birthplace of Krishna. Mathura is the birthplace of Lord Krishna and the most ancient city of India. The capital of the country Shursena was here. In mythological literature, Mathura has been addressed by many names like – Shursen Nagari, Madhupuri, Madhunagari, Madhura etc. That part of India which lies between the Himalayas and Vindhyachal was called Aryavarta in ancient times. The streams which irrigated the Indian culture that flourished here were the streams of Ganga and Yamuna. Many centers of Indian culture were built and developed on the banks of these two rivers.
archaeological remains have been found
- British writer A. W. Entwistle has written in his book ‘Braj – Center of Krishna Pilgrimage’ that a temple dedicated to the birthplace of Lord Krishna was built by his great-grandson Vajranabh. It was also called Katra Keshavdev. It is written in the same book that in the archaeological excavations done at this site, things made of pottery and terracotta of the sixth century BC were found. Some Jain idols and a Yaksha Vihara of Gupta period were also found in this excavation.
- British Army Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham has written many books on history. His documents have also been used as evidence in the Ayodhya case. He has written about Mathura that it is possible that a Vaishnava temple was built here in the first century.
- Al-Utbi, a contemporary writer of Mahmud Ghaznavi, in ‘Tarikh-i-Yamini’ mentions the plundering of Haznavi in Mahavan and Mathura. He has written – There was a huge and grand temple in the middle of the city, which people believed was not built by humans, but by angels. Words or pictures cannot describe the beauty of the temple.
- Mahmood Ghaznavi himself has written that – If someone asks to build a temple like this, he will not be able to build such a temple even after spending 10 crore dinars. And even the most skilled craftsmen would take 200 years to make it.
- FS Groves in his book Mathura ‘Vrindavan – The Mystical Land of Lord Krishna’ and Fazi Ahmed in ‘Heroes of Islam’ write that Mahmud Ghaznavi ordered all the temples to be burnt and demolished and hundreds of camels to sleep on He had taken away the silver idols.
- Hans Becker has written in his book ‘The History of Sacred Places in India’ that in Vikram Samvat 1207, a huge temple touching the sky was built here.
- Stephen Knapp writes in ‘Krishna Deities and Their Miracles’ that the Vaishnava saints Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Vallabhacharya visited Mathura in the early 16th century.
- Abdullah, a writer of the time of Mughal emperor Jahangir, wrote in his book ‘Tarikh-e-Daudi’ that Sultan Sikandar Lodhi of Delhi destroyed Mathura and its temples in the sixteenth century.
The king of Banaras bought
During an auction in the year 1815 during the British rule, Raja Patnimal of Banaras bought this place. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya came here in the year 1940 and after three years in 1943 industrialist Jugalkishore Birla came to Mathura. He was deeply saddened to see the plight of Shri Krishna’s birthplace. Meanwhile, Malviya ji wrote a letter to Birla regarding the revival of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi. Respecting Malviya’s wish, Birla bought Katra Keshav Dev on 7 February 1944 from the then heirs of Raja Patnimal. Before they could do anything, Malviya died. As per his last wish, Birla established the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust on 21 February 1951.
Some Muslims living here even before the establishment of the trust filed a writ in the Allahabad High Court in 1945. Its decision came in 1953. Only after this some construction work could start here. Here the renovation and construction work of the Garbha Griha and the grand Bhagwat Bhawan started, which was completed in February 1982.
Source: newstrack.com”
