Mathura

The ancient capital of the state of Surasena, situated on the river Yamunā, to the west of Kuru, located a few miles from present-day Mathurā in Uttar Pradesh. Though visited by the Buddha at least once, he does not seem to have stayed there long nor had any particular liking for the place, though he seems to have had a few followers there, notably his disciple Mahākatyāyana. In later centuries, the Chinese pilgrims Fa-hsien and Hsüan-tsang reported that there was a flourishing Saṃgha there. Mathurā was also important as a centre of Buddhist art, producing some of the earliest sculpted images of the Buddha. Not to be confused with a city of the same name near Madras in south India.