Braj (also known as Brij or Brajbhoomi) is a region in Uttar Pradesh of India. Braj, though never a clearly defined political region in India but is very well demarcated culturally, is considered to be the land of Krishna and is derived from the Sanskrit word vraja. The main city in the region is Mathura.
Geographically and culturally Brajbhoomi is a part of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, which has been the main determinant of the entire Indian culture. Brajbhoomi falls right in the middle of the Doab. The area was an important part of the Madhya-desha or Aryavarta or midlands, when Aryans first settled in the Ganga plains.
The region lies well within the golden triangle of Delhi-Jaipur-Agra. Some of the regions included in Brij are Gokul, Govardhan, Vrindavan. Contrary to the popular belief that Braj is Matura, Vrindavan and Goverdhan alone, this region comprises Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, Kaman Tehsil of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan and Hodal Tehsil of Faridabad district of Haryana and it spans across 1300 villages and 5000 km² in area.
