Mathura or Muttra, city (1991 pop. 235,922), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Yamuna River. An agricultural market town and district administrative center, it is best known as a Hindu pilgrimage site, the reputed birthplace of the god Krishna. The region, which may have been inhabited since the 7th cent. B.C., is rich in archaeological remains. Muslim rulers (16th-18th cent.) destroyed many Hindu temples in the city and erected mosques.