Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple is located in the holy city of Mathura in the in the western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple is also known as Keshava Deo or Keshava Dev Temple and it is the most venerated Hindu temples in the country. This temple is the place of birth of Lord Krishna. It is a popular belief that nearly 5000 years ago Lord Krishna was born in the prison of King Kansa in Mathura. Mathura is also known as Brij Bhoomi - The land where Shri Krishna was born and spent his youth. It is an important pilgrim place of the Hindus and one of the seven sacred cities in India. As per epic Mahabharata, Mathura was the capital of the Surasena Kingdom, ruled by Kansa the maternal uncle of Krishna.
The temple is believed to have constructed at the site where Lord Shri Krishna was born to Devki and Vasudeo in the underground prison of King Kansa. The prison cell, popularly known as 'Garbha Griha' is the exact place where lord Krishna was born. The prison cell was later turned into the present beautiful temple. Many articles excavated from this site bare testimony to the legendary story of Lord Shri Krishna’s birth. These artefacts such as archaic utensils, old statues and a rock platform that was generally seen in the prisons during that period were unearthed from the site and are displayed in a museum near to the main temple.
Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple History
The temple had been destroyed number of times by Mohammed Ghazni, Sikander Lodi and Aurangzeb but has been restored every time. It is said that no other temple in India would have undergone so many destructive activities of Muslim Invaders. The present day Krishna Temple of Mathura was built in the year 1965. The original temple of Lord Krishna had been established by his great grandson Vajranabha about 5000 years ago. Later, in 400 AD a Gupta King named Chandragupta Vikramaditya had built an imperial temple at this place. This temple was believed to be the grandest temple in all of India but was destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017 AD. Then a new temple was raised in 1150 AD and this shrine of Lord Krishna was demolished by Sikander Lodi in 16th century AD. Eventually Raja Veer Singh Bundela of Orchha constructed a new temple during the dominion of the Mughal emperor Jehangir. But the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb brought it down and built the Idgah Mosque at its site. Today, the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple shares a common wall with the mosque.
The magnificent temple of Lord Krishna is architecturally very interesting and houses elegant and mesmerizing idols of Sri Krishna and Devi Radha. Apart from the idols of the presiding deity, the temple also enshrines a number of idols of other Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Mathura can be visited between 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM all throughout the year.
Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple is the most visited temple in Mathura. Its popularity reflects in the long queue of the pilgrims that can be seen at the temple every day who stand there for hours to have a glance of the Lord. There is a strict security check at the gate and all electronic equipment is to be surrendered before going in.
The festival of janmastami is celebrated with great grandeur here. Visitors from all over the world flock to the place during janmastami to be part of this grand event. Celebrations begin during mid-night with the birth of lord.
How to Reach Mathura
Mathura is just 150 odd Kilometres from the national capital New Delhi. Mathura Railway junction is an important rail head in the Mumbai – Delhi, Chennai – Delhi rail route and regular train services are available from Mathura to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai along with many other cities in India. The nearest airport from Mathura is at Kheria in Agra which is just 60 kilometres from the city centre. It is well connected to cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Delhi International airport is the nearest one, which is 147 km away from Mathura. Mathura is well connected to all the major cities in Uttar Pradesh and India through a network of State and National Highways. Several state owned road transport corporation buses ply between Mathura and adjoining cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Delhi and Jaipur.