Although Vajranabha Maharaja had a son named Sagaṇa, whose son was Vidhṛti; it is unknown how long the Chandra-vamsha dynasty continued to rule over Mathura. Within time, the city of Mathura and the whole of North India eventually came under the rule of the Sishunaga and Nanda Dynasty kings of Magadha from around 600 BCE until 321 BCE, when Chandragupta 1st established the Maurya Dynasty after conquering Magadha. Chandragupta, with the help of his minister Chanakya Pandita, drove out the Macedonian-Greek invaders who had captured the north-western regions of India and consequently established the Maurya Empire that lasted until 183 BCE.
Due to the gradual demise of the Maurya Empire, the north west frontier provinces of India were again overrun, this time by the Bactrian-Greeks and then later by Sakas (Scythians). The ancient city of Mathura was first captured by the invading Bactrian-Greek armies under Menander in 150 BCE, and Mathura as well as the Keshavadeva Temple was pillaged for the first time. It is said by historians that Menander’s vast empire stretched from Kabul in Afghanistan to the city of Mathura. Then around 140 BCE, Mathura came under attack for the second time from the invading Turko-Iranian tribes known as the Sakas (Scythians), and then again for a third time around 58 BCE, by another Turko-Iranian tribe known as the Kushans, who made Taxilla their winter capitol and Mathura became their southern capitol.
The Hindu king Chandragupta II, belonging to the Gupta dynasty of Magadh, who was known as Vikramaditya, around 380 CE drove out the Kushans from Mathura and northern India and rebuilt the Keshavadeva Mandira on a grand scale. The temple built by Vikramaditya was said to be unrivaled anywhere in India in terms of craftsmanship, architectural beauty, and grandeur. The Gupta era in Indian history marked an important renaissance of Hindu culture, learning, and the arts, and during this time many temples were built. Sometime after 450 CE, Mathura was once again sacked by the invading White Huns under Toramana who overthrew the Gupta Empire and Mathura once again came under attack from invading foreign hordes.
Then in 528 CE, a confederacy of Indian kings led by Narasimhagupta of the Gupta dynasty and Raja Yasodhaman of Malwa drove out the White Huns and regained control over Mathura and the rest of Northern India. In 1018 CE, the Keshavadeva temple built by Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) was completely destroyed by the invading armies of Mahmud of Gazni. After this, the temple was again rebuilt around 1155, on the same spot by Raja Vijaypal, the king of Kanauj (Kanyakubja). The temple was again partially destroyed around 1500, by the fanatical Afghani-Turk ruler of Delhi named Sikanda Lodhi, who also forbade the Hindus of Mathura to bathe in the Yamuna or shave their heads. The Keshavadeva temple is said to have been rebuilt over the ruins of the previous temple during the reign of Akbar’s son Jehangir, by Raja Virasingha Bundela of Orcha, a vassal of the Mughal rulers around the year 1610 CE.
The last destruction of the temple took place in 1669 CE, by the Mughal tyrant Aurangzeb, who built a mosque over the exact site using the very same sandstone blocks from the ruins of the Keshavadeva Temple. The same mosque built by Aurangzeb is still visible today and is known as the Idgarh, where Friday prayers and other important prayer meetings like Eid al-Fitr are held. With the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 CE, the Mughal Empire began to disintegrate due to the rise of the Marathas, who eventually established a powerful empire that stretched from Peshawar in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south. However in 1759 CE, Ahmad Shah Durrani, also known as Ahmad Khan Abdali, the Afghan ruler who raided India on six different occasions, attacked Mathura and Vrindavana and besides plundering and burning many temples, his forces massacred many thousands of innocent people.
Ahmad Shah Durrani also attacked the town of Goverdhana but His army was opposed by 4,000 heavily armed naga sadhus. During the fierce battle, some 2,000 naga sadhus died defending the holy town. Having lost over 4,000 of his own soldiers in the fierce battle, Ahmad Shah Durrani was forced to withdraw under the cover of darkness and Govardhana was saved from being pillaged. Then in the year 1757 CE, the British under the banner of the East India Company, defeated the Nawab of Bengal, a Mughal Sattrap, at the battle of Plassey in Bengal and consequently gained political control over large areas of the Indian sub-continent; heralding an end the murderous and despotic rule of the Mohammedan tyrants that had lasted for nearly one thousand years. In the year 1804 CE, having extended their sovereignty over most parts of India, the British finally annexed Mathura and established their rule over the holy city which lasted until 1947 CE when India gained independence.
Deepen your Bhakti-yoga practice, harmonize relationships, and receive guided coaching — all at Vedavarsity.com
