Mathura

Tourism in Mathura revolves around the places associated with Lord Shri Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Mathura, part of Braj Bhoomi and the place where Shri Krishna spent his childhood, is one of the pilgrimages of the Hindus. City of Mathura is located on the west bank of the river Yamuna that flows mainly undisturbed from Delhi to Agra. Rites on the Yamuna consist partly of launching lighted oil lamps on the river at dusk by the hundreds, a pretty sight. But like all religious places in India, Mathura is not without its paradoxes, the grotesque and the sublime lie cheek by jowl. Mathura is the birthplace of Krishna and it is revered as such by Hindu pilgrims. Their destination is a shrine in one part of the city known as Katra. There once stood a Hindu temple, destroyed by Aurangzeb who built a mosque on the site. But the basement of the temple remains and so does a sign proclaiming “Birthplace of Krishna”. The holiness of Mathura is all pervading — actually, it draws worshippers of Lord Vishnu in the same way that Benares draws the adorers of Lord Shiva, the Destroyer. Just as the followers of Lord Shiva flock to the Ganges, pilgrims to Mathura are drawn to the Yamuna and, in particular, to the Vishram Ghat {ghat means a river terrace). It is here, tradition says, that Shri Krishna rested after slaying the tyrannical Kansa. Kansa was maternal uncle of Shri Krishna and in his jail / prison Lord Krishna was born.