4/2/08

On the Yamuna. Mathura. Uttar Pradesh



Women drying up saris alongside the sacred Yamuna river in Mathura.
A long line of picturesque, pink ghats - with their steps leading to the water's edge, arched gateways and a temple, of course pink, extending along the right bank of the River Yamuna, emphasise the sacred character of the town of Mathura. The birth place of Lord Krishna, "the best known, best loved and most complex of Lord Vishnu's manifestations". Mathura is today an important place of pilgrimage. An ancient city, Mathura's strategic location at the crossroads of various trade routes - that went westwards to West Asia and the Roman Empire; northwards, via Taxila, Pushkalavati and Purushapur to Central Asia and the Silk Route and eastwards to China - ensured its position as a centre of trade and a meeting point for many different cultures

On the cover of this book: www.garzantilibri.it/default.php?page=visu_libro&CPID...