Madhu Forest or Madhuvana was a dense forest in ancient northern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

,that existed to the west of Yamuna

Yamuna

The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...

.

In the Ramayana and the Mahabharata

According to the Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

, an Asura

Asura

-In Hinduism:In Hinduism, the Asuras constitute a group of power-seeking deities, sometimes considered sinful and materialistic. The Daityas and Danavas were combinedly known as Asuras. The Asura were opposed to the Devas. Both groups are children of Kasyapa...

 named Madhu, ruled this forest and its territory. He was defeated by Shatrughna

Shatrughna

Shatrughna was the youngest brother of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana . He is the twin brother of Lakshmana.-Birth and family:...

 one of the brothers of king Raghava Rama of Kosala

Kosala Kingdom

Kosala Proper or Uttara Kosala is the kingdom of the celebrated personality of Treta Yuga, Raghava Rama. Ayodhya was its capital, presently in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh. Rama's sons Lava and Kusha inherited parts of this kingdom. Lava ruled from the city called Sravasti and Kusa from the...

. Shatrughna later cleared this forest and built a city called Mathura here. This later became the capital of Surasena Kingdom

Surasena Kingdom

Surasena Kingdom was ruled by Yaduvanshi kings as per the epic Mahabharata. It is said to be named after the King Shoorsen. The capital city of this kingdom, Mathura was founded by Shatrughna, the brother of Sri Rama the ruler of Kosala in Treta Yuga. He conquered this region after defeating the...

 as in the epic Mahabharata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

. Yadava

Yadava

The Yadavas were an ancient Indian people who believed themselves to be descended from Yadu, a mythical king. The community was probably formed of four clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Satvatas, who all worshipped Lord Krishna. They are listed in ancient Indian literature as the...

 kings Ugrasrena and Kamsa ruled from here.

In the Harivamsa

According to the Harivamsa

Harivamsa

The Harivamsha is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 verses, mostly in metre. The text is also known as . This text is believed as a khila to the Mahabharata and is traditionally ascribed to Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa...

 (95.5242-8), a Yadava king Madhu, the descendant of Yadu

Yadu

Yadu is one of the five Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rig Veda . The Mahabharata, the Harivamsha and the Puranas mention Yadu as the eldest son of king Yayati and his queen Devayani. The prince of King Yayati, Yadu was a self-respecting and a very established ruler...

 ruled from Madhuvana. Rama's brother Shatrughna killed the Madhava Lavana, a descendant of Madhu, cut down the Madhuvana forest and built Mathura city there. After the death of Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 and his brothers, Bhima, son of Satvata, a descendant of Madhu recovered the city.