Mathura is one of the most important ancient settlements and one among the seven most sacred cities in India along with Ayodhya, Haridwar (Maya), Kasi, Kanchi, Ujjain (Avantika), and Dvarka. The city is situated about eighty-seven miles south of Delhi and thirty-one miles north of Agra on National Highway No. 2 and once served as the junction of the Western, Northern, Central, and Northeastern Railways, making it the biggest junction point of the Indian Railways until restructuring in 2003. The city is also the district headquarter, and the area of the modern Mathura district is 2075 square miles with a population of over 2.5 million people as per the 2011 census. Mathura is most famous for being considered the birthplace of Krishna, the most popular incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The surrounding area of Mathura forms part of Vraja kshetra (popularly known as Braj), considered sacred as being the location of Krishna’s childhood activities. Historically and archaeologically, the town was one of the most important trade centers of ancient India and the epicenter of the famous school of sculptural art known in popular parlance as the Mathura school, which gave form to many Brahmanical, Jaina, and Buddhist deities including the earliest imagery of the buddha. Prior to becoming a great center of art, Mathura was one of the biggest settlements during the Painted Grey Ware period, generally dated between 1200 and 500 bce, and one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Northern Black Polished Ware period, c. 6th to 4th centuries bce. The archaeological evidence for the early periods at Mathura is limited due to a lack of large-scale excavations but with the increasing evidence of epigraphical and sculptural activities dating from 200 bce and later, the archaeology and culture of the area is better understood. Key factors that led to the evolution of Mathura as an important city and cultural center are its strategic location on trade routes and the religious/sectarian environment where most early Indian sects and cults developed. Buddhism and Jainism along with the prevalent local and Brahmanical cults gained popularity in the Mathura region from the early historical period of c. 3rd century bce, if not earlier. Most of the early religious art related to these sects first evolved in the environs of Mathura during the Sunga-Kushan periods. There is enough good evidence for the popularity of the cult of Vasudeva-Krishna at Mathura during the Kushan period, but the popular Krishna cult for which Mathura is renowned became more prevalent and visible during the late medieval period only, particularly with the development of the Vallabhite and Gaudiya sects. The role of Mathura in the intermediary period between the Gupta and late medieval periods is not well known due to lack of information and archaeological evidence, but it seems that the Mathura region lost its political importance during this period and yet the religious importance somehow survived until its revival as the greatest center of Krishna bhakti in late medieval or premodern times.
A Matter of Life and Death – Trade and Burial around St Giles’ Cathedral: Archaeological Investigations at Parliament House, Edinburgh
