Kṛṣṇa's River
The Yamunā (also called Kālindī after the sage Kalinda's daughter) is a major tributary of the Gaṅgā, flowing through Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. For Vaishnavas, the stretch of the Yamunā from Mathurā to Vṛndāvana to Agra is the most sacred.
The Yamunā witnessed:
- Vasudeva's crossing with the infant Kṛṣṇa at midnight (the river parted to let him through)
- Kṛṣṇa's childhood play (līlā) on her banks
- The subduing of the serpent Kāliya in her depths
- The Rāsa-dance of Kṛṣṇa and the Gopīs on her banks
Yamunā as Goddess
Yamunā is worshipped as a goddess — sister of Yama (the god of death), daughter of the Sun (Sūrya). As Kālindī, she became one of Kṛṣṇa's divine consorts. Her dark blue waters are identified with Kṛṣṇa's dark blue form — the river is the Lord made liquid.
The Name Yāmunācārya
The great ācārya Yāmunācārya (Alavandar) took his spiritual name from the Yamunā river — expressing his devotion to Kṛṣṇa and his connection to the Kṛṣṇa-bhakti stream of the tradition. The river's name thus became part of the Sri Vaishnava sampradāya's own naming conventions.