MATHURA: A RELIGIOUS HERITAGE

Mathura is today venerated first and foremost as the birthplace of Vasudeva or

Kṛiṣhṇa. As a historical place, even today, numerous spots in this landscape
narrate stories woven around the life of this god. However, this landscape across
15 centuries, between the third century BCE and the twelfth century CE, and
reveals the long, complex, and multi-layered religious history of Mathura before
it developed strong associations with the worship of Kṛiṣhṇa. The fact that
Mathura had a multi-religious character points to a diverse religious heritage.
Mathura also acquired fame for being associated with a school of sculpture,
owing to the numerous sculptures of red sandstone discovered here. Mathura
contributed towards the production of the exquisite pieces of sculpture, and
inscriptions associated with major religious traditions of early India namely
Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism. The sources of Mathura Heritage are the
inscriptions from third century BCE till the twelfth century CE. The Mathura
inscriptions are donative in nature and they record various kinds of gifts, such as
images, pillars, temples, stone slabs, stupas, tanks and gardens. Their religious
affiliations are also known and a majority of them are associated with Jainism
and Buddhism, followed by the Hindu gods and goddesses and other cults. A
majority of these gifts were made by private individuals, monastic order and a
few by kings and queens.

Jainism has been divided into two sects, namely Svetambara and Digambara, for
many centuries. The Svetambaras are dressed in white clothes whereas the
Digambaras practise complete nudity. Jain stupa and its evidence reveals the
active worship of stupas by the Jains at Mathura. The evidence of Jain stupa
worship is at Kankali Tila. There were depictions of image on stone slabs and
donations of Jina images in large numbers. There are various depictions of the
stupa on several Jain architectural and sculptural antiquities from Mathura. There
are various references in Jain literature about the existence of devanirmita stupa
at Mathura. One of the most significant discoveries of Führer’s excavations in
1889-90 has been the remnants of a brick stupa which can be traced back to fourth
or third century BCE. A number of images of the tirthankaras, particular
Mahavira, with inscriptions were found in the stupa area. It has left no doubt of
the stupa having Jain connections. A tympanum from Mathura has revealed the
important forms of worship in Jainism. The uppermost band of the tympanum
shows the worship of stupa, middle band of the tympanum indicates worship of
Jina and lowermost band of the tympanum reveals a scene of worship of a
goddess. It indicates that the stupa worship was simultaneous with the worship of
Jina images and Goddesses in Jainism. A literary text Yasastilakacampu which
was composed by Somadeva in 959 CE reveals that a Jain stupa was in existence
at the time of composition of this text and it was known as devanirmita. Another
Jain text named Vividhatirthakalpa which was composed by Jinaprabhasūri in the
14th century CE attested the existence of a devanirmita stupa at Mathura. The
practice of donating Jina images continued in Mathura till the early medieval
period and witnessed a pinnacle between first and fourth centuries CE. The
tirthankaras which are identifiable include Mahavira, Ṛiṣabhanatha,
Sambhavanatha, Sumatinatha, Ariṣhṭnemi, Shantinatha, Munisuvrata,
Parsvanatha, Neminatha, goddess Sarasvati. Stupas have usually been associated
with Buddhism and understood in the context of Buddhist parallels alone.
However, it is clearly established that Jains of Mathura also worshipped stupas
just as the Buddhists did. It is evident from the remains of a Jain stupa at Kankali
Tila.

The Buddhist triratna i.e. ‘I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the
Sangha’ in itself establishes devotion towards the Buddha and a relationship
between the devotee and him. The stupa, the reliquary in which the Buddha's
physical remains are contained, is a powerful symbol of both his physical death
and continued presence in the world. The Buddha is carved as an ascetic, standing
or seated in a monk’s robes. The early iconographic characteristics include the
uṣṇiṣa which was an artificial bump on the top of his head, signifying his
extraordinary intelligence. It later became a standard feature of all the Buddha
images from Mathura. The gifts donated in Buddhism were stone bowls, sculpture
reliefs, images, pillar bases. The gifts most popularly made by the Buddhists were
the images of the Buddha, followed by pillar bases and Bodhisattva images. The
donation of miniature stupas and carving of scenes depicting stupa worship
suggest the popularity of worship of stupas, with which Buddhists are well known
to have been associated. Image worship was more popular than the worship of
the stupa at Mathura.

Mathura is venerated as the first and foremost birthplace of Vasudeva or Kṛiṣhṇa.

There are many inscriptional references to Vasudeva from 1st century BCE to 1st
century CE. There are many Krishna sculptures located in Mathura. It seems to
be clear that Vasudeva was a god of major significance at Mathura and his
worship reflected itself in various modes of worship in the stipulated centuries.
There are two inscriptional references from first century BCE to first century CE
to Vasudeva. One reference is to a stone temple and another epigraph records the
gift of a gateway and a railing in the Mahasthana (great sanctuary) of God
Vasudeva. It establishes that Vasudeva was an important deity as the temple
dedicated in his honour is referred to as a Mahasthana. The Mahasthana and
devagṛha suggest larger and bigger temples donated in honour of this god as early
as first century BCE to first century CE.

Majority of gifts donated at Mathura were objects or places of worship. This

includes images, stupas, temples, ayagapaṭas and silapaṭas. However, donations
also included tanks, reservoirs, wells and gardens. All the gifts mentioned above
were donated by all religious traditions, except the ayagapaṭas, which are known
to have been worshipped and donated by Jains alone. Images were the earliest
gifts donated. Jain, Saiva and Vasudeva are the earliest temples in this area
respectively . Jainism had a continued presence from as early as the second
century BCE to as late as the eleventh century CE. A similar time span applies to
the Hindu cults, as gifts in honour of Hindu gods and goddesses are noticeable
from the first century BCE continuing up to the twelfth century CE. Thus, it seems
that the Jain and Vaiṣṇava inscriptions continued in Mathura as late as the early
medieval period. For Jains, Mathura was an important religious centre which is
further attested by the discovery of two Jain temples, brick stupas and numerous
Jina images and ayagapaṭas from the site of Kankali Tila, indicating its status as
a predominant Jain establishment. Mathura religious heritage analysed in this
long period clearly establishes the notion of change and diversity on this religious
landscape. The change is noticeable in the kind of gifts donated and in the
vocabulary of inscriptions and information mentioned in the inscriptions. The
diversity is explicitly revealed from the various religious traditions which sparked
these changes. All the religions interacted with each other and left their footprints
on the soil of Mathura.