Mathura district: Difference between revisions

| subdivision_name      = [[India]]

'''Mathura district''' situated along the banks of the river [[Yamuna]] is a district of [[Uttar Pradesh]] [[States and Territories of India|state]] of north-central [[India]]. The historic city of [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]] is the district headquarters. It also is famous for the city of [[Vrindavan]], one of the most [[sacred]] places in [[Vaishnavism]].<ref name="Madan">{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/176 176]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref> The District is part of [[Agra division]]. Total area of Mathura district is 3340 sq. km.<ref>{{Cite web|title=District Mathura, Government of Uttar Pradesh {{!}} Birth Place of Lord Sri Krishna {{!}} India|url=https://mathura.nic.in/|access-date=2021-03-16|language=en-US}}</ref>

There are 5 tehsils in Mathura district. 1. Mathura 2. Govardhan 3. Chhata 4. Mant 5. Mahavan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tehsil {{!}} District Mathura, Government of Uttar Pradesh {{!}} India|url=https://mathura.nic.in/tehsil/|access-date=2021-03-16|language=en-US}}</ref> Mathura is bounded on the northeast by [[Aligarh District]], on the southeast by [[Hathras District]], on the south by [[Agra District]], and on the west by [[Rajasthan]] and northwest by [[Haryana]] state. Mathura district is an important pilgrimage centre of Hindus. Many towns in the district Mathura have a very low population of people who consume alcohol and non-vegetarian food.

==Historical background==

[[File:Kusuma Sarovar Ghat.jpg|left|thumb|260px|Kusuma Sarovar bathing ghat, in the [[Goverdhan]] area]]

[[Fa Xian]] mentions the city, as a centre of Buddhism about AD 400; while his successor [[Hsuan Tsang|Xuanzang]], who visited the city in 634 AD, which he mentions as Mot'ulo, and said that it contained twenty Buddhist monasteries and five Brahmanical temples.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Muttra|volume=19|pages=101–102}}</ref> Later, he went east to [[Thanesar]], [[Jalandhar]] in the eastern [[Punjab region|Punjab]], before climbing up to visit predominantly [[Theravada]] monasteries in the [[Kulu valley]] and turning southward again to [[Bairat]] and then Mathura, on the [[Yamuna river]].<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Hsüan Tsang |volume=13 |page=844 |first1=Henry |last1=Yule |first2=Robert Kennaway |last2=Douglas}}</ref>

Sikander Lodhi earned the epithet of 'But Shikan', the 'Destroyer of Hindu deities'. The [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Aurangzeb|Emperor Aurangzeb]], built the city's ''Jami Masjid'' (Friday [[mosque]]).{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} The noteworthy fact is that the exact place of birth of Lord Krishna, according to historians, is in the place of worship of the Hindus, though the mosque was built near the birthplace of Lord Krishna. The bigger [[Krishna]] shrine, better known as Dwarkadeesh 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]].{{citation needed|date=January 2011}}

|title=Religions in Mathura District

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{{bar percent|[[Hindus]]|orange|90.72}}

}}</ref> This gives it a ranking of 167th in India (out of a total of [[Districts of India|640]]).<ref name=districtcensus/> The district has a population density of {{convert| 761 |PD/sqkm|PD/sqmi}}.<ref name=districtcensus/> Its [[Family planning in India|population growth rate]] over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.53%.<ref name=districtcensus/> Mathura has a [[sex ratio]] of 858 [[Women in India|females]] for every 1000 males,<ref name=districtcensus/> and a [[Literacy in India|literacy rate]] of 72.65%.<ref name=districtcensus/> The district has about 1,600,000 voters, including 300,000 [[Jat people]], 250,000 [[Thakur (title)|Thakur]], and 175,000 [[Brahmin]]s.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Nitin-Gadkari-to-hold-rally-in-yadav-dominated-Mathura-district/articleshow/24843383.cms?referral=PM|work=The Times of India| title=Nitin Gadkari to hold rally in Jat dominated Mathura district}}</ref> Mathura receives a large number of daily visitors besides pilgrims who stay for an average of 3 days. Mathura's urban area's floating population on normal days is between 100,000 and 125,000 per day, whereas on festive and auspicious days it is over twice the population of urban area.

At the time of the [[2011 Census of India]], 98.39% of the population in the district spoke [[Hindi]] and 0.81% [[Urdu]] as their first language.<ref>[http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-16.html 2011 Census of India, Population By Mother Tongue]</ref>

People in Mathura and nearby areas speak [[Braj]].

Braj Bhasha (Devanagari: ब्रज भाषा), also called [[Brij Bhasha]] (बॄज भाषा), Braj Bhakha (ब्रज भाखा), or Dehaati Zabaan (देहाती ज़बान, 'country tongue'), is a Western Hindi language closely related to Hindustani. In fact, it is usually considered to be a dialect of Western Hindi, and along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi) was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before the switch to Hindustani (Khariboli) in the 19th century.

Braj Bhasha language, also spelled Braj Bhasa, Braj Bhakha, or Brij Bhasa,  language descended from Shauraseni Prakrit and commonly viewed as a western dialect of Hindi. It is spoken by some 575,000 people, primarily in India. Its purest forms are spoken in the cities of Mathura, Agra, Etah, and Aligarh.

Most speakers of Braj Bhasha worship the Hindu deity Krishna. Their bhakti (“devotion”) finds expression in the language, which has a very firm base in folk literature and songs. Almost all of the enactments of episodes from Krishna's life that are performed during the Janmashtami festival (celebrating Krishna's birth) are presented in [[Braj Bhasha]].

'''Mathura School of Art''', style of Buddhist visual art that flourished in the Mathura, from the 2nd century bc to the 12th century A.D; its most distinctive contributions were made during the Kushan and Gupta periods (1st–6th century A.d). Images in the mottled red sandstone from the nearby Sīkri quarries are found widely distributed over north central India, attesting to Mathurā's importance as an exporter of sculpture. The Mathura School images are related to the earlier yakṣa (male nature deity) figures, a resemblance particularly evident in the colossal standing Buddha images of the early Kushān period. In these, and in the more representative seated Buddhas, the overall effect is one of enormous energy. The shoulders are broad, the chest swells, and the legs are firmly planted with feet spaced apart.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/369326/Mathura-art|encyclopedia=Encycloaedia Britannica Inc.|title=Mathura School of Art}}</ref>

'''Jaipur Temple''' which was built by Sawai Madhav Singh, the Maharaja of Jaipur in 1917, is a richly embellished and opulent temple located in Vrindaban. The fine hand - carved sandstone is of unparalleled workmanship. The temple is dedicated to Shri Radha Madhav.<ref name="m1">{{cite web|url=http://mathura-vrindavan.com/mathura/vrindavan.htm|title=An eternal glory of lord, Mathura-Vrindaban}}</ref>

'''Shree Radha Ras Bihari Ashta Sakhi Temple''': In Vrindavan, the "Lila Sthan" (the place of the divine passion play) of Lord Krishna, lies the temple that is a must visit destination for devotees completing the 84 kosh Vraj Parikrama Yatra. The temple is centuries old and is the first Indian temple that is dedicated to the divine couple and their Ashta Sakhi's - the eight "companions" of Radha who were intimately involved in her love play with the Lord Krishna. The Ashta Sakhis are mentioned in the ancient texts of [[Puranas]] and the [[Bhagavata Purana]]. The temple is called Shree Radha Ras Bihari Ashta Sakhi Mandir and it is home to the divine [[Rasa Lila]] of Lord Krishna and [[Radharani]]. It is located in close proximity to the [[Banke Bihari Temple]]. Legend has it that the Shree Radha Rasa Behari Ashta Sakhi Mandir is one of the two places in Mathura, Vrindavan where the Lord Krishna actually indulges in the Rasa Lila with his beloved Radha and her sakhis. On these nights, devotees have reported hearing the sound of the anklets, beating in tune to a divine melody.