Chanura

A wrestler of Mathura ordered by Kamsa to kill Krishna and Balarama. Krishna wrestled him in Kamsa’s arena and killed him.

(See also: Chanura, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Akrura

A distant relative whom Krishna considered His uncle and who on Kamsa’s order brought Krishna and Balarama from Vraja to Mathura.

(See also: Akrura, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Ugrasena (Sanskrit) A king of Mathura, and father of the Kansa who was slain by Krishna. Krishna after killing the latter restored Ugrasena to the throne.

(See also: Ugrasena, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Krishnastami Day: Lord Krishna's birthday. He was born after midnight on the eighth day of the dark moon in the month of Sravana (July-August) in a prison in Mathura.

(See also: Krishnastami Day, Hinduism, Yoga, Body Mind and Soul)

Although Maues and his successors had conquered the areas of Gandhara, as well as the area of Mathura from 85 BCE, they were unsuccessful against the Indo-Greek kings remaining behind the Jhelum River in eastern Punjab. The Indo-Greek Hippostratos (65-55 BCE) finally lost to Azes I after a long resistance. Some coins of Azes I depict the god Poseidon vanquishing a horned river god, suggesting a naval victory ...

See also:

Azes I, Azes I - History, Azes I - The Azes Era, Azes I - Other coins

Read more here: » Azes I: Encyclopedia II - Azes I - History

Gauramukha (Sanskrit) (from gaura shining, brilliant, beautiful + mukha face)

The purohita or family priest of Ugrasena, king of Mathura.

(See also: Gauramukha, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Kubja

A hunchback woman of Mathura employed as a seller of fragrant ointments. Attracted to Krishna when He entered Mathura, she happily agreed to supply Him ointment without payment and applied it to His body. As a reward Krishna transformed her into a beautiful young lady. Krishna later visited her home along with Uddhava.

(See also: Kubja, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Pancharatra: (Sanskrit) An ancient name of Vaishnavism. The term literally means "five nights," but may be a corruption of pancharatha ("five vehicles, ways or paths"), thought to indicate five ancient sects in the vicinity of Mathura that eventually merged into one with the worship of Krishna.

(See also: Pancharatra, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Azes II is also connected to the Bimaran casket, one of the earliest representations of the Buddha. The casket, probably Greek work, was used for the dedication of a stupa in Bamiran, near Jalalabad in Afghanistan, and placed inside the stupa with several coins of Azes II. This event may have happened during the reign of Azes (35-12 BCE), or slightly later. The Indo-Scythians are otherwise connected with Buddhism (see Mathura lion capital), and it is indeed possible they would have commend ...

See also:

Azes II, Azes II - Decline of the Scythians, Azes II - Coinage, Azes II - The Bimaran casket

Read more here: » Azes II: Encyclopedia II - Azes II - The Bimaran casket

Vishrama-ghata (Vishranti-tirtha)

The main bathing ghata in the city of Mathura on the river Yamuna. It is famous for being the place where Lord Varaha rested after killing the first demon in the universe, Hiranyaksha.

(See also: Vishrama-ghata, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Vasudeva

Krishna’s father in Mathura and Dvaraka. He and his wife Devaki were persecuted by Kamsa for many years before Krishna delivered them by killing Kamsa.

(See also: Vasudeva, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yadavas (Yadus)

The royal dynasty led by Krishna in Mathura and Dvaraka, descended from the ancient King Yadu, son of Yayati. The dynasty included hundreds of thousands of valiant warriors and princes, all fully devoted to Krishna

(See also: Yadavas, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Begram (Kapisa) became the summer capital of the Kushan Empire from the 1st century, their other capital being in Mathura in central India. The emperor Kanishka started many new buildings there. The central palace building yielded a very rich treasure, dated from the time of emperor Kanishka in the 2nd century: ivory-plated stools of Indian origin, lacquered boxes from Han China, Greco-Roman glasses from Egypt and Syria, Hellenistic statues in the Pompean style, stuc moldings, and silverware ...

See also:

Bagram, Bagram - Origins, Bagram - The Begram treasure, Bagram - Today

Read more here: » Bagram: Encyclopedia II - Bagram - The Begram treasure

Yashoda (-devi)

Krishna’s mother in Vraja. She raised Him from infancy until He moved to Mathura. She is the most exalted of all of Krishna’s devotees in the mood of parental love.

(See also: Yashoda, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

uddipana

A category of bhava which means “that which lights the lamp of bhakti.”

Ugrasena

The Bhoja king of Mathura whose throne was usurped by his son Kamsa but restored by Krishna after Krishna killed Kamsa.

(See also: uddipana, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Sandipani

A sage residing in Avanti who was the teacher of Krishna and Balarama, after they moved to Mathura. They learned from him all the sixty-four traditional arts in sixty-four days.

(See also: Sandipani, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Kuvalayapida

An elephant deployed by King Kamsa to kill Krishna and Balarama when They came to Mathura. Krishna killed the elephant and later used one of its tusks to kill Kamsa’s soldiers.

(See also: Kuvalayapida, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Nanda (Gopa)

The king of the cowherds of Vraja. He and his wife Yashoda, the greatest of devotees in the mood of parents, raised Krishna from His infancy until He left Vraja for Mathura.

(See also: Nanda, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Pradyumna

A son of Krishna in Dvaraka. He appears in Dvaraka and Mathura as the transcendental Cupid, the third of the original quadruple vyuha expansions of the Supreme Lord. He again expands from Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha, in the second quadruple, as the ruler of mind.

(See also: Pradyumna, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Gokula came on scene when the fanatic Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707) attempted to convert Dar-ul-Hurb (Hindustan) to Dar-ul-Islam forcibly through persecution and dogmatic policies. In early 1669 Aurangzeb appointed a strong follower of Islam Abdunnabi as Faujdar of Mathura to curb the Hindus of this area. Abdunnabi established a cantonment near Gokulsingh and conducted all his operations from there. Gokula organized the farmers not to give taxes to the Mughals. The Mughal soldiers started atrocities on the farmers. This was the ...

See also:

Gokula, Gokula - The early life, Gokula - Left Sinsini, Gokula - Rise of Gokula, Gokula - The battle of Tilpat, Gokula - Gokula hacked to death

Read more here: » Gokula: Encyclopedia II - Gokula - Rise of Gokula

Goloka

The eternal abode of the Supreme Lord in His original form of Krishna. It is located above all the other Vaikuntha planets. It has three parts—Vrindavana, Mathura, and Dvaraka.

(See also: Goloka, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

catur-vyuha

The principal expansions of the Supreme Lord in Vaikuntha. The first four vyuhas  are Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha. The original Vasudeva and Sankarshana are Krishna and Balarama as They appear in Mathura and Dvaraka, and the original Pradyumna and Aniruddha are Krishna's first son and grandson.

(See also: catur-vyuha, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)