Temple of Lord Shri Ram’s younger brother Shatrughan ji in Mathura

One of the oldest temples of Mathura is the temple of Shri Ram’s younger brother Shatrughan Ji. Local people are unaware of the antiquity of this temple situated in a street in the middle of the city.

According to ‘Valmiki Ramayana’, in Treta Yuga, Lavanasura, son of King Madhu of Mathura (Madhupuri), was an extremely tyrannical ruler. The extremely unrighteous Lavanasura used to kill four human beings every day. In those days, Shri Ram was sitting on the throne of Ayodhya after exile. The suffering people of Mathura went to Ayodhya and requested Shri Ram to free Madhupuri from the terror of Lavanasura. When Ramji got worried, Shatrughan ji requested his elder brother that Lakshman ji has served him during his exile, Bharat ji took care of Ayodhya with the Charan Paduka during his exile, but the youngest son Shatrughan did not get the opportunity of any service yet. Hearing this, Shri Ram ordered Shatrughan ji to go to Madhupuri with his army. Here Shatrughan ji killed Lavanasura and also ruled Madhupuri with the permission of his elder brother.

Mythological stories of the Treta era consider Shatrughan ji as Mathuradhish. The character of Shatrughan ji is inextricably linked with the mythological saga of Mathurapuri. This story can be read in different forms in ‘Valmiki Ramayana’, ‘Vishnupuran’ and other ancient texts. The story of ‘Shatrughan ji’s temple’ in Mathura is connected to this story.

‘Shatrupan ji’s temple’ is situated about a hundred meters away in the Bari street of Chhatta Bazaar, inside Holi Darwaza. According to an inscription inside the temple, Raghunath Das Sharma had renovated the temple about two hundred years ago, since then his descendants have been serving this temple. From the word renovation, it is clear that the temple existed earlier also. The building of the temple appears ancient only at first glance, but the vastness and grandeur of the idol is evident only after seeing it. Ancient marble idols are rarely found in Northern India, hence this temple is worth seeing.

Mythological stories of the Treta era consider Shatrughan ji as Mathuradhish. The character of Shatrughan ji is inextricably linked with the mythological story of Mathurapuri. This story can be read in different forms in ‘Valmiki Ramayana’, ‘Vishnupuran’ and other ancient texts. The existence of ‘Shatrughan ji’s temple’ in Mathura is linked to this story.