The Bhakti-ratnakara says, “In the forest of Madhuvana, Mathura Puri is gloriously situated. By performing parikrama at special times one achieves extraordinary fruits.” That the holy city of Mathura is located within the forest of Madhuvana is confirmed by the Puranas, the Ramayana and other Vedic literatures. In the Skanda Purana it is said, “Originally Mathura Puri was the forest of the demon Madhu who was slain by the almighty Shri Hari. O King, nothing is impossible within this Madhuvana of Shri Hari. I am not capable of naming all the holy places situated here.” This verse also confirms that Mathura is located within the forest of Madhuvana. The forest of Madhuvana is glorified throughout the Vedas as the place where Lord Vishnu slew the demon named Madhu. The Puranas say that the demon Madhu established his kingdom here in Madhuvana forest and built a city called Madhu Puri. Eventually, Lord Vishnu appeared in the Madhuvana forest and slew the demon Madhu. After slaying the demon, the Lord became known as ‘Madhusudana, the killer of the demon Madhu’.
Dhruva Underwent Penance in Madhuvana Forest
The Shrimad-Bhagavatam reveals that the sacred forest of Madhuvana was well known to the earliest Aryans and its long history has been recorded in the Vedic scriptures. Although Madhuvana forest and Mathura are both manifestations on the earthly plane of the original Madhuvana and Mathura located in the spiritual world of Gokula Vrindavana, their earthly manifestations have existed since eternity and are mentioned in historical accounts from the period of the first Satya-yuga in the Swayambhuva-manvantara when the demon Madhu established his city here. During the subsequent Raivata-manvantara, the five year old boy-saint Dhruva Maharaja, son of King Uttanapada, performed severe austerities in Madhuvana forest so as to achieve darshana of Lord Vishnu. Dhruva would bathe every day in the Yamuna River at the place now known as Dhruva Ghata in Mathura and then sit in meditation on a nearby hillock now called Dhruva-tila.
Prince Ayu establishes a City at Mathura
According to historians, Prince Ayu, the son of King Pururava, the forefather of the Chandra-vamsha dynasty of kings, is said to have established the first known city at Mathura during the fifth Treta-yuga of the present Vaivasvata-manvantara. Prince Ayu’s father King Pururava ruled all the lands on the western bank of the Ganges and is said to have established his capital city at Pratishthanpur (Prayag). At this time in history the kings of the Surya-vamsha dynasty ruled all the lands on the eastern bank of the Ganges with their capitol city at Ayodhya.
The Vishnu Purana (4.1.17) says, “The descendants of Pururava became kshatriya kings and spread in all directions.” King Pururava was followed on the throne by his son Ayu, followed by his son Nahusha. After Nahusha, his celebrated son Maharaja Yayati ascended the throne of Pratisthanpura in the twelfth Treta-yuga; he was followed by his son Yadu, who became the founder of the famous Yadava Dynasty in which Lord Krishna appeared. The Yadavas of the Chandra-vamsha Dynasty began their rule over Mathura at this time and established a large kingdom known as Shurasena which covered the region around Mathura and Agra. During this period in history, Mathura became one of the most prominent of the famous sixteen ‘Janapadas’ or large ‘urban cities’ of Bharata-varsha that have been mentioned in the Vedas.
Shatrughna Established the Present City of Mathura
The present city of Mathura that we see today has been built over the foundations of the previous city established by Shatrughna, Lord Rama’s younger brother, immediately after he slew the demon Lavanasura, the son of Madhu. In the Vishnu Purana it is said, “This city is named Mathura because here Shatrughna killed powerful Lavanasura, the son of the rakshasa Madhu.” It has been established from various Puranas and the Ramayana that Shatrughna founded Mathura after killing Lavanasura. This is also confirmed by Valmiki Muni in the uttara khanda of his epic Ramayana. During the twenty-fourth Treta-yuga of the Vaivasvata manvantara, shortly after the powerful demon Ravana had been killed by Lord Ramachandra in the Lankan war, Lord Rama sent His young brother Shatrughna to Madhuvana to kill the demon Lavanasura, who was one of the last remaining demons on earth at that time. Shatrughna, after successfully slaying Lavanasura, established the city of Mathura Puri on the banks of the River Yamuna. Shatrughna ruled over the Mathura region and expanded the empire of the Surya vamsa dynasty on the eastern bank of the Ganges.
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