From Gupta to Mughal history of Krishna Janam Sthan

From Gupta to Mughal history of Krishna Janam Sthan

Subject :History

Section: Art and Culture

Context: The Allahabad High Court has ordered a survey of the Shai Idgah mosque

Some facts about the Krishna Janam Sthan:

• The Krishna Janmasthan, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, has a rich history dating back 2,000 years.
• The site, located in Mathura along the Yamuna river, gained significance during the Mauryan era.
• The first Vaishnava temple was likely built in the 1st century CE, with a grander temple constructed during the reign of Chandragupta II around 400 CE.
• Mahmud of Ghazni’s plundering raids in the 11th century impacted Buddhist and Jain centers but did not destroy Krishna worship.
• The decline of temples during the Delhi Sultanate gave rise to a new form of Vaishnavism, propagated by saints like Nimbarka, Vallabha, and Chaitanya.
• Under the early Mughals, religious activity in Braj flourished, and Akbar made land and revenue grants to various Vaishnavite sects.
• In 1618, Raja Veer Singh Deo built a grand temple at the Katra site.
• In 1650, the grand temple at Mathura, as described by French traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, exhibited a unique octagonal shape and was constructed with red sandstone.
• Venetian travelerNiccolao Manucci, visiting in the late 1650s, noted its impressive height, with a gilded pinnacle visible from Agra.
• In 1660, Aurangzeb appointed Abdul Nabi Khan as the governor of Mathura, a figure disliked by the Hindu population.
• Subsequently, in 1661-62, Khan constructed the Jama Masjid at the site where Sikandar Lodhi had previously destroyed a temple.
• In 1666, Abdul Nabi Khan dismantled the protective railing erected by Dara Shikoh around the Keshavdev temple.
• In 1669, Aurangzeb issued a royal farmaan ordering the destruction of all Hindu schools and temples, across the Mughal Empire.
• The Kashi Vishwanath temple in Kashi was destroyed after the farmaan was issued.
• In 1670, he specifically ordered the destruction of Mathura’s Keshavdev temple, and sponsored the construction of the Shahi Idgah in its place
• In 1803, Mathura came under the control of the British East India Company.
• In 1815, the Company auctioned 13.37 acres of land at the Katra Keshavdev site to Raja Patnimal, a wealthy banker from Varanasi.
• The ownership of this land is currently subject to ongoing litigation, with the Hindu side claiming it included the Shahi Idgah mosque, while the Muslim side disputes this.
• Despite Raja Patnimal’s desire to construct a temple on the site, financial constraints prevented its realization. Facing lawsuits related to the land, his descendants sold it in 1944 to industrialist Jugal Kishore Birla.
• In 1951, the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust was established by Birla to facilitate the construction of a temple at the site.
• Construction commenced in 1953 and was completed in 1983, shaping the temple’s current form, situated adjacent to the Shahi Idgah mosque.