Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex, Mathura: History, Timings & Visitor Guide

Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex is open every day, usually from early morning to late evening with a break in the afternoon. Darshan and aarti timings change with the season and on festival days.

• MorningOpens early morning (around 5 to 6 AM)
• AfternoonShort break around midday at many temples
• EveningEvening aarti around sunset, closes by about 8 to 9 PM

Ask the temple office on arrival for the day's aarti schedule.

Dress Code & Temple Rules

• DressModest, traditional clothes covering shoulders and knees
• FootwearRemove before entering; use the shoe stand
• PhotographyNot allowed inside the sanctum
• Not AllowedLeather items, tobacco, alcohol, non-veg food
• QueueFollow queue lines and staff instructions on festival days

According to Hindu traditions, Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in a prison cell where they were confined by his maternal uncle Kamsa, a king of Mathura, due to prophecy of his death by the child of Devaki. According to tradition, a temple dedicated to Krishna was built the birthplace by his great-grandson Vajranabh. The present site known as Krishna Janmasthan (lit. 'birthplace of Krishna') was known as Katra (lit. 'market place') Keshavdeva. The archaeological excavations of the site had revealed pottery and terracotta from 6th century BCE. It also produced some Jain sculptures as well as a large Buddhist complex including Yasha Vihara. The Vaishnava temple may have erected on the place as early as the first century. A whole new magnificent temple complex was rebuilt at the place by Gupta Emperor Chandragupta II in 400CE. A late 8th century inscriptions also mentions donations to the site by the Rashtrakutas.

In 1017 or 1018, Mahmud of Ghazni attacked and plundered Mahaban. He ordered to burn all the temples and demolish them. He plundered gold and silver statues and carried away a load of hundred camels. A stone inscription in Sanskrit found from the site mentions that in Vikram Samvat 1207 (1150) a person named Jajja who may have been a vassal of Gahadavala king built a Vishnu temple which was 'brilliantly white and touching the clouds'.

Vaishnava saints Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Vallabhacharya visited Mathura in early 16th century. Abdullah, in the reign of Mughal emperor Jehangir, mentions in Tarikh-i-Daudi the destruction of Mathura and its temples by Delhi Sultan Sikandar Lodi in 16th century. Lodi had prohibited Hindus from bathing in the river and shaving of heads on the banks as well. In the reign of Jehangir, in 1618, Raja Veer Singh Deva Bundela of Orchha had built a temple at the cost of thirty-three lakhs. A French traveller Tavernier visited Mathura in 1650 and had described the octagonal temple built in red sandstone. Italian traveller Niccolao Manucci who worked in Mughal court has also described the temple. Mughal prince Dara Shikoh had patronised the temple and donated a railing to the temple. The railing was removed by Mathura governor Abdun Nabi Khan on the order of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and he built the Jama mosque on the ruins of the Hindu temples. During the Jat rebellion in Mathura, Abdul Nabi Khan was killed in 1669. Aurangzeb attacked Mathura and destroyed that Keshavdeva temple in 1670 and built the Shahi Eidgah in its place.