Mathura Temple Dispute

Mathura dispute

Similar to the dispute of Ayodhya and Kashi is the dispute of Mathura Krishna janmabhoomi.

The Krishna janmasthan complex is a group of temples in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh dedicated to Radha Krishna. This location is believed to be the original place where Lord Krishna was born . There is the Eidgah mosque built by Aurangzeb near the temples .

This place of huge religious significance since a very long time , actually dating back to 6th century BCE . It is linked to spiritual sentiments of Hindus in India. These groups of temples were destroyed multiple times by many invaders , the most recent one being Aurangzeb . This was mostly done to reduce the faith of people in Hindu Gods, as well as to propogate Islam by building up a mosque above the same place. In 1670 , Aurangzeb built the Eidgah mosque at the same place.

The new temple complex was built collectively with the help of industrialists containing the Keshavdeva temple and the Garbhagriha temple at the birthplace and the Bhagwat Bhawan .

History of the location

Krishna was born in the jail to Devaki , a temple was constructed at this birthplace by his gteat grandson Vajranabh.The archaelogical excavation of this site has revealed pottery and sculptures dating back to 6th century BC. The Vaishnava temple may have erected on the place as early as the first century.Some late 8th century inscriptions mentions donations to the site by the Rashtrakutas.

Attempts of Destruction

Mahmud of Ghazni while destroying the original temples wrote ” There was a large magnificient temple at the centre of the city of Mathura . The glamour of the temple was eye catching . It was believed to be constructed by angels and not by men . If the temple was to be constructed by men it would not take less than 200 years , even if the finest of the builders were employed . ” The original temple was so magnificient , white in colour , and it appeared as though it touched the clouds .

Vallabhacharya and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were two Vaishnav saints who visited Mathura in sixteenth century.The destruction of Mathura and its temples by Sultan of Delhi , Sikandar Lodi is mentioned in Tarikh-i-Daudi , by Abdullah.Hindus were prohibited from bathing in rivers and shaving their heads during his rule.

Mughal prince Dara Shikoh had patronised the temple and donated a railing to the temple.The railing was removed by Mathura governor Abdun Nabi Khan on the order of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and he built the Jama mosque on the ruins of the Hindu temples. During the Jat rebellion in Mathura, Abdul Nabi Khan was killed in 1669.Aurangzeb attacked Mathura and destroyed that Keshavdeva temple in 1670 and built the Shahi Eidgah in its place.

Reconstruction

During the British rule the land was bought by politician and educationist Madan Mohan Malviya, and after his death it was passed to the next generations .With the help of many political leaders , educationists and industrialists a group of temples was started in 1953 and completed in 1982.

The recent excavations and all evidences proof that a enormous and magnificient temple existed in the place of the mosque . This is also mentioned in the writings of some of the foreign writers who visited India during the medieval period .

But the Eidgah mosque stand straight , just beside the Krishna Janmabhoomi complex , thus creating the dispute. The supporters of temple has recently proposed an offer of providing a land which is one and a half times larger to construct the mosque at a separate place and settle the dispute , in the similar manner as was done in the case of Ayodhya dispute.