Mathura

Mathura  is a city in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately 60 km north of Agra, and 150 km south of Delhi; about 12 kilometers from the town of Vrindavan and 20 kilometers from Govardhan It is the administrative centre of Mathura District of Uttar Pradesh. During the ancient period, Mathura was an economic hub, located at the junction of important caravan routes.

Mathura is the birthplace of Lord Krishna at the centre of Braj or Brij-bhoomi, called Krishna janma-bhoomi, literary 'Krishna's birth place'. The Keshav Dev temple was built in ancient times on the site of Krishna's legendary birthplace (an underground prison). As per the epics Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana, Mathura was the capital of the Surasena Kingdom, ruled by Kansa the maternal uncle of Krishna.

Mathura has an ancient history. As per the ASI plaque at Mathura museum, the city is mentioned in the oldest epic Ramayana. In the epic, the Ikshwaku prince Shatrughna, slays a demon called Lavanasura and claims the land. Afterwards the place came to be known as Madhuvan as it was thickly wooded, Madhupura and later Mathura. The demon that Shatrughan killed in Ramayana, Lavanasura was the progeny of a devout king Madhu who gets Lord Shiva's Trident in a boon in the Puranas. The Puranas ascribe the founding of the city to Ayu, the son of Pururavas and the celestial nymph Urvashi. The city might also have got its name from a famous Yadav king Madhu who reigned around 1600 BC. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathura