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Brajbhoomi - Where Legends Live |
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Weekends are those blessings which thankfully fall into everyone's life.
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A break is what we needed when we packed our bags to drive down some 147 kilometers southeast of Delhi.
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The road was good and well lined with restaurants on either side. It took three hours of relaxed driving to reach Mathura, the land of the cowherd, Krishna.
Some 20 kilometers ahead of Mathura one noticed a marked increase in the number of cattle along the road. Would their ancestors have been herded by Lord Krishna himself…one wonders.
Mathura - The Legends of Krishna
The holy town along the banks of the Yamuna is one of the few which has been mentioned both in history and mythology. Mathura is full of stories of Krishna, his birth and the part of his life he spent there. A king named Ugrasena ruled over Mathura. Once Ugrasena and his wife were taking a walk in the gardens when a demon saw the queen and fell in love with her. In his lust for her he diverted Ugrasena, assumed his form and the child born of this union was Kansa. Kansa grew up to dethrone his father and imprison his cousin, Devaki.
While driving Devaki and her husband Vasudeva in his chariot, Kansa heard a voice in the sky telling him that he way carrying a woman whose eighth child would kill him. Kansa immediately prepared to till Devaki. But Vasudeva intervened and begged for her life with the promise that they would hand over all their children to him soon after their birth. So Kansa imprisoned them and killed seven children. A few minutes before the eighth child was to be born Vasudeva was advised by a voice from the heavens to carry the baby to Yashoda and Nanda (a cowherd) in Brindavan and exchange it for the baby girl born there. It was midnight and pouring with rain.
Putting the newborn baby in basket Vasudeva set out wondering how he'd protect the child from the rain. But he needn't have worried. The prison doors opened, the rivers receded and the serpent on which Lord Vishnu reclines came down to protect Lord Krishna with its hood. Krishna arrived safely in Brindavan to grow up to kill Kansa.
Traffic Chaos in the Krishna Country
The reverie is broken by the increasing traffic on the road. Mathura has come unannounced. One looks for evidence of Krishna but instead one sees huge buses, scooters and cycles. The only visible links are the many cows. As one drives into the city one begins to see Krishna in the large number of people wearing saffron clothes, white dhoti and kurta. Some sport a majestic tilak (mark on the forehead) of sandalwood paste and others a saffron scarf. Strains of "Jai Govind jai Gopala", "Govind bolo hari Gopala bolo" begin to fill your ears.
The Krishna Janmabhoomi
Driving through the city one noticed the buildings on either side on the road. They are either residential bungalows, single storeyed or high walls with temples inside or houses with Muslim architecture. The blending of the two types of architecture is v ery apparent. Then you reach the place Krishna was born. A temple stands there now. One enters the compound. A narrow passage leads into a small room with a raised platform to the left. Beautiful pictures of the child Krishna adorn the platform. The story of his birth is both written and illustrated on the walls. A narrow set of marble steps lead you to the terrace and a walled corridor, creating the effect of a prison, leads you out. The Jama Masjid as the backdrop to the temple looks majestic. The prison and the other buildings were razed to the ground in the 17th century.
Much later, in 1962, industrialists like G. D. Birla, restored a portion of it and created a shrine for pilgrims to pay homage. This birthplace of Lord Krishna is known as Krishna Janmbhoomi. Our guide then leads us to a covered verandah-like structure on the terrace and points to the wall of marble which faces us. Can you not see figures of Krishna and Radha (his consort) on the wall he asks. Whether his question colored our vision I cannot say, but we did see figures of Krishna and in some places with Radha on the marble. The figures were effects created by the grain of the marble.
The whole piece of marble was found like that our guide informed us. On the other side of this complex was a guesthouse and a few dark stairs led into a medium sized room with tables. Apprehensively we sat down to eat the most delicious dinner of chappathis, dal (cereals), subzi (vegetables), and rice for an unbelievable Rs. 6/- per thali (a full three course meal served on a plate). All around the temple we found shops with beautiful idols, made of marble or papier mache Krishna is the main theme of the idols and the models which depict stories and incidents from his life. There are animal figures, fruits, vegetables all made of mud and clay or papier mache and painted in bright colors. And there are devotees. Thousands of them from all corners of India and abroad. Today Mathura is a seat of cultural confluence with the ISKON building, a beautiful complex dedicated to Lord Krishna. Swaying from side to side Lord Krishna's devotees sing Bhajans (hymns) in all languages.
Mornings in Mathura
The morning dawns very early here and by 7.00 a.m. the streets of Mathura are clean and the open drains washed with bleaching powder sprinkled all around. Considering the number of pilgrims coming to Mathura all year round it is really very clean. No spit, no garbage except for cow dung is not considered to be garbage. There are pilgrims who pay their obeisance to the cattle on the road with devout piety. The people of Mathura love the cattle and do not look upon them as animals. A friendly pat when passing one, an indulgent caress, and even when the tail of the animal hits them, they push it back matter-of-factly and go on. The people all look fresh so early in the morning. The men are out sitting on the narrow platform outside their homes reading Pravda Times, their daily newspaper.
Ghats of Yamuna
After killing Kansa, mythology has it that Krishna gave the throne back to his grandfather Ugrasena and then left for Dwarka. They relaxed for a time on the banks of the Yamuna after Kansa had been killed and this is called the Vishram Ghat. The banks of the Yamuna are however not congenial to relaxation today as they are dirty. A boatman takes you on the river which has many tortoise. He shows you a dilapidated fort and tells you this was Kansa's queen the story says. Like Venice, Mathura too spills into the river, with a heterogeneous backdrop.
There are Vishram Ghats and temples everywhere. Says our guide, if a house has two rooms, one is converted into a temple. The market place is an experience by itself. The shops seell dolls together with various items to decorate them. Skirts, blouses, dupattas, jewellery and even sweater for these dolls are available. There are also many shops selling bangles, cassettes of Krishna Bhajans and flutes (the instrument Krishna is characterized as playing). To walk through the market place, rubbing shoulders with cows, doing hopscotch over cow dung and avoiding cyclists and scooterists while still shopping needs expertise.
But this is not just a land of temples. It is also a great centre of Buddhism. In the museum of Mathura stands a powerful, impressive Bodhisttava which belongs to the Kushana period. Mathura stakes claims to the honousr of having produced the first images of Buddha. The Mathura school of Art which also flourished at that time was influenced both by Buddism and Jainism and by the Scythians. The coins found during archaeological excavations in Mathura point to Scythian influence, plaques depicting the cross-legged naked figures of Tirthankara in meditation point to Jainism. Perhaps the latter inspired the Buddhists to depict their own teacher.
Out in the Krishna Country
Driving down to Vrindavan, one comes to a complex popularly known as Rangit temple. A South Indian from Srivalliputtur in Tamil Nadu built this temple in Mathura as this was a place referred to in Andal's Thirupavai (Tamildevotional piece by Andal - a devotee of Lord Vishnu). Consisting of five rectangular enclosures the sanctum Sanctorum stands under a multi-towered façade. There are two main entrances to this temple one to the east and one to the west. Each enclosure houses various forms of the Lord. The portico outside the sanctum sanctorum is decorated with the Hindi translation of the Tamil "Thirupavai" and illustrated too. We were shown a pond of water where they say an elephant's foot was gripped by a crocodile. The elephant prayed to the Lord and was set free by him - the story of Gajendra Mohsham. We were also shown the place where Krishna conquered the serpent Kalinga and where Krishna teased the gopis (cow girls) by hiding their clothes when they had gone to bathe.
The Banke Bihari temple and many others are all so beautiful and the piety which they command lend them an ethereal air. The guides in dhotis and silk kurtas are knowledgeable and also worldly-wise - a slip and they will fleece you penny by penny.
There is till so much left unsaid about the treasures of Mathura. The temples, heterogeneity, the traditions, the people quoting freely form Sanskrit are all legacies of ancient Mathura, a glorious city of ancient India.
GETTING THERE
By Air
Nearest airport is at Agra, 58 kilometers from Mathura.
By Rail
Mathura is a major junction. Many south and west bund trains plus a few north and west bound trains halt at Mathura.
Shopping
Famous for pedas (a kind of sweet) and idols and various figures in stone and clay.
Courtesy : Discover India
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