Mathura

City and sacred site (tirtha) in the
Braj region of the state of Uttar
Pradesh, about ninety miles south of
Delhi. Mathura is known as the town
in which the god Krishna was born.
The Krishna Janam Bhumi, purportedly the site of his birth, can still be
seen today. Krishna was spirited out of
Mathura on that same night because
his wicked uncle Kamsa, who was
king of Mathura, had killed all of
Krishna’s older siblings at birth. When
Krishna came of age he returned to
Mathura, killed Kansa, and claimed
his patrimony. As with sites in the
Braj region, Mathura is full of associations with Krishna’s earthly life; these
allow his devotees (bhakta) access to
him, in that they can visualize the
places he visited, and thus through
imagination take part in his mythic
deeds themselves.