It was situated at the south of Matsya state and Mathura was its capital. The king of this state was Avanti putra. He was a contemporary of lord Buddha.

The kingdom of Surasena, underwent a lot metamorphosis in terms of religion. The capital, which was Mathura, was the centre of Krishna worship at the time of Megasthenes. Whereas Avantipura who was the king of Surasena was one of the first desciples of Buddha, and it gained prominence ever since then in Mathura. The geographical location of this kingdom among the sixteen mahajanapadas was south west of Matsya and west of the river Yamuna. There were various tribes that in habited the region and they were headed by a chief.