06 October - Mathura / Vrindavan

After an early breakfast today my driver and I were off to drive to Agra, India. Along the way we stopped in Mathura / Vindavan.The site of Mathura was inhabited before the 1st century when the city flourished under the Kushan dynasty. In the 2nd century the city was a stronghold of Buddhists and Jains. In 1017–18 Maḥmūd of Ghazna pillaged Mathura, and between 1500 and 1757 it was sacked four times. The city fell under British rule in 1804.

Mathura is one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus. It is the traditional birthplace of the god Krishna (Krishna Janmabhoomi) and the primary site of pilgrimage for the annual celebration of Janmashtami. The city’s Shāh Mosque was built on the site in the 17th century, replacing a Hindu temple that had been erected there several decades earlier. The construction of a new temple, adjacent to the mosque, was completed on the site in 1965. 

Vrindavan is a town in western Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is situated on the west bank of the Yamuna River, just north of Mathura. The town is the sacred center of the Hindu deity Krishna and those who worship him. It is especially important to the Gaudiya sect of Vaishnavism and is a major pilgrimage site.

After we went to Agra.......see shots coming next!!!