Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
In the year 1720, the armies of the Marathas defeated the Mughal forces and were successful in liberating the holy city of Mathura from the tyrannical rule of the Mohammedans. The Marathas went on to conquer the whole of Northern India ultimately driving the Mughals into oblivion. Because Aurangzeb had destroyed the original Keshava temple in 1669 and erected a mosque on the site, the Marathas built a new temple at this location next to the old temple which was completed in the year 1790 and known as the Adi-Keshavaji Mandira. The locals also refer to this temple as the Maratha Mandira as it was established by the Maratha chieftains. Although the original Deity of Keshavadeva, established by Vajranabha, had been moved to Rasadhan prior to Aurangzeb’s attack, the original Vijay-murti from the old Keshavadeva Mandira was still in Mathura. Therefore the Vijay-murti was installed in the newly built temple. Vijay-murti is the replica Deity (pratibhu-murti) which is taken out on ratha-yatra processions during festival days. It is said that the body of this Vijay-murti is marked with the signs of the twenty-four primary avataras of Vishnu. Although the Adi-Keshava Mandira has since been renovated, the old gateway and part of the temple boundary wall originally built by the Marathas remains even today.
