Indian Antiquary Vol 52

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 490

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128
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the two wrestlers, Chanura and Mushtika ; at Kubja's well he cured Kubjâ of her hump; at Kamsa-ka-Tilâ, outside the southern gate of the present city, he killed Kamsa; at Bisrâma ghâț or Bisrânti-ghat (Vardha P., ch. 152) he rested himself after his victory. Kamsa-ka-sila and Kubja's temple are situated on high mounds which are evidently the remains of the three Asoka Stūpas mentioned by Hiuen Tsiang. The Jog-ghât marks the spot where Kamsa is said to have dashed Mâyâ or Yoganidra to the ground, but a pair of feet carved on a stone just below the Bat treo (Ficus Indicus) in front of the Kârâgåra where Kțishna was born, points out the place where Kaņsa attempted to kill her, but she escaped from his hand into the sky. Mathura was the hermitage of Dhruva (Skanda P., Kasi Kh., ch. 20); near Dhruva-ghat, there is a temple dedicated to him. Growse identifies the Kaikali Tila (see Urumunda Parvata) near the Katra with the monastery of Upagupta, the preceptor, according to some, of Kâlâśoka or according to others of Asoka. It was visited by Hiuen Tsiang. The temple of Kaukali Devi, a form of Durga, is a very small temple built on the land evidently after the destruction of the Buddhist monastery. The temple of Bhutesvara is identified with the stapa of Sariputra, the disciple of Buddha ; it is one of the seven stapas mentioned by Hiuen Tsiang. With in the temple is a subterranean chamber containing the image of Påtaleswari—a form of Mahishamarddiņi. The Damdamå mound near Serai Jamalpur ís identified with the monkey-stapa and the Yaga Vihara with the temple of Kelava Deva, which has been graphically described by Travernier as the temple of " Râm Râm " before its destruction by Aurangzeb in 1669 for the construction of a mosque on its site.Mathura was also called Madhupuri (present Maholi, five miles to the south-west of the modern city), being the abode of Madhu, whose son Lavana was killed by Satrughna, the brother of Ramachandra, who founded the present city on the site of Madhuvana (Growse's Mathura, ch. 4: Harivamsa, pt. I, ch. 54). Inscriptions of Vasu Deva found in Mathura by General Cunningham. He was perhaps the first of the Kaņva dynasty of the Purâņas, which ruled over North-Western India and the Punjab just before and after the Christian era ; or he was the predecessor of Hushka, Jushka, and Kanishka (see Arch. S. Rep., vol. III, p. 42). Mathura was also called Madhura (Ramayana, Uttara, ch. 108—Bomb. recension); see Madhura. 2. Mathura (Padma P., Uttara, ch. 95), Madhurâ or Madura, the second capital of Pandya, on the river Vaigai, in the province of Madras; it is said to have been founded by Kula Sekhara. It was called Dakshiņa Mathurâ by way of contradistinction to Mathura of the United Provinces (Brihat-Siva P., pt. II, ch. 20). It was the capital of Jatavarman who ascended the throne in 1250 or 1251, and conquered the Hoysala kirg Somegvara of Karnâta (Ep. Ind., vol. III, p. 8). It contained the celebrated temples of Minâkshî Devi and Sundaresvara Mahadeva (Wilson's Mackenzie Collection, p. 226).
See Minakshi. Matipura-Madawar or Mundore in western Rohilkhand, eight miles north of Bijnor and
thirty miles to the south of Hardwar. It is also called Madyabar. See Pralamba. Matsya-Desa-1. The territory of Jaipur; it included the whole of the present territory of
Alwar with a portion of Bharatpur (Mbh., Sabha, ch. 30 and Virâta, ch. 1 ; Thornton's Gazetteer ; Arch. S. Rep., vol. XX, p. 2; vol. II, p. 244). It was the kingdom of Raja Virâţa of the Mahabharata, where Yudhishthira and his brothers resided incognito during the last year of their banishment. Bairâta or Birâta is in the Jaipur State of Rajputana. Matsya is the Machchha of the Buddhists, and it was one of the sixteen great kingdoms (maha-janapada) mentioned in the Pitakas (SBE., XVII, p. 146 note). Machheri, which is a corruption of Matsya, is situated 22 miles to the south of Alwar, which formerly appertained to the territory of Jaipur. See Birata. 2. Coorg (Skanda P., Kaveri Mâhât.