Context:
Recently Supreme Court declined to stay an order issued by the Allahabad High Court allowing a survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque.
Shahi Idgah mosque:
- Location – Mathura
- Believed to have been built at Krishna Janmasthan (site where Lord Krishna was born)
Historical Background:
- Mathura significance –
- Located on the banks of the river Yamuna
- A prominent centre of commerce and governance under the Mauryan Empire
- Religious diversity –
- A major centre for Buddhism and Jainism
- Found with many stupas and monasteries
- Traveller’s record – Chinese pilgrims Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang described stupas and monasteries in Mathura
- Krishna Janmasthan –
- Historian A W Entwistle – 1st Vaishnava temple built in the 1st century CE.
- Grandeur temple – during the reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) around 400 CE
- Buddhist structure –
- Alexander Cunningham – site originally contained Buddhist structures
- Invasion by Mahmud of Ghazini –
- Ruler of Ghaznavid empire raided India in the early 11th century and attacked Mathura
- Katra Keshadev temple –
- Built around 1150 CE
- Described by Sanskrit inscription as brilliantly white and touching the clouds.
- Demolished by – Delhi Sultanate ruler Sikandar Lodhi
- New form of Vaishnavism – Inspired by saints like Nimbarka, Vallabha, and Chaitanya.
- Mughal dynasty – Akbar – supported the temples of different Vaishnavite sects in Mathura.
- Raja Veer Singh Deo’s temple –
- Built in 1618 during the reign of Jahangir at Katra site
- Built by – Orchha King.
French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier described that the temple was octagonal in shape, and built with red sandstone.
Venetian traveller Niccolao Manucci wrote that the temple was of such a height that its gilded pinnacle could be seen from Agra.
- Aurangzeb rule –
- Abdul Nabi Khan built the Jama Masjid at the location of the temple that had been destroyed by Sikandar Lodhi.
- In 1666, he destroyed the railing built by Dara Shikoh around the Keshavdev temple.
- Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of Keshavdev temple in Mathura which was replaced by the Shahi Idgah mosque.
- British India –
- The land auctioned by the British East India Company in 1815 to a Hindu banker Raja Patnimal, who wanted to rebuild the temple but faced legal challenges.
- Post-independence –
- Raja Patnimal sold the land to Jugal Kishore Birla in 1944 who formed the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust in 1951 to build a temple.
Source: Indian Express
Previous Year Question
In which one of the following regions was Dhanyakataka, which flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas, located?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Andhra
(b) Gandhara
(c) Kalinga
(d) Magadha
Answer: (a)
