Vital Villages Thriving Towns

Villages in the northern part of the country were mostly inhabited by the village headman, independent farmers, field workers and craftsmen. The village headman was known as the grama bhojaka. He was the largest land owner and generally very powerful. The independent farmers were called grihapatis, most of whom were smaller landowners. Then there were people who did not own land and earned their living by working on the fields owned by others. This segment was called dasa karmakara. In most villages, there were also some crafts persons such as the blacksmith, potter, carpenter and weaver.

Many distinctive features made Mathura an important settlement. Some such features are:
Its location at the cross roads of two major routes of travel and trade — from northwest to east and from north to south.
There were fortifications around the city.

It was an important centre for the production of some extremely fine sculpture.
It became the second capital of the Kushanas around 2000 years ago.
Several inscriptions on surfaces such as stone slabs and statues were found in Mathura. Buddhist monasteries and Jaina shrines made Mathura an important religious centre and it was an important centre for the worship of lord Krishna.