History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c33.s4.18

v3.c33.s4.18

Mathura the most sacred city of the Hindus, especially the Vaishnavas, was in the heart of the empire of Kanauj and the Pratihāra emperors were often devotees of Vishnu. Mathura had been founded by Śatrughna, a brother of Rāma and it was the birth-place of Śrīkṛiṣṇa. Mathura was sacred to the Buddhists also and during the Hindu period its importance still more increased. The superb temples built there and the immense treasures accumulated therein could not be given up to the idol-breaker and plunderer without a struggle and Rājyapāla though unwilling to sacrifice himself must have sent a strong force to oppose Mahmud. The battle is said to have been fought in a wood; and the place has been identified with the village of Mahāban on the maps. And there must have been then a great forest surrounding the place; for this is the place where Nanda lived and reared Śrīkṛiṣhṇa in a forest, which long remained uncut down to recent times. The place is about six miles from Mathura and Shahajahan is recorded to have killed tigers in the jungle (Mathura Gazetteer). There is a small hill and a fort there and Kulachandra may even have been the hereditary protector of this Mahaban which is also a sacred place. He fought stubbornly with his infantry, cavalry and elephants and Utbi as usual attributes the success of Mahmud to the dictates of fate. Mahmud had no doubt come with an irresistible force, but it may be related to the credit of the Hindus that they did not deliver their sacred city to plunder and devastation without making a frantic effort to save it. Kulachandra in the usual Rajput fashion when unable to avert his fate killed his wife first and himself thereafter. The almost superhuman grandeur of the city of Mathura and the immense booty which Mahmud undoubtedly got in its sack are thus described by Utbi.