Sanjana, the cloud goddess is the wife of Surya, the sun god. Surya shined so bright, almost causing a blinding effect to Sanjana. Sanjana failed to keep her eyes open and closed them. That is why Lord Surya cursed her and Yama was born. Yama became the god of death. Sanjana tried very hard to keep her eyes open but they flickered at the endangering Lord Surya once again. The Yamuna was born to Sanjana and she was blessed with being worshipped as a goddess and remembered through time because Sanjana had taken the efforts to keep her eyes open.
Yama and Yamuna are twins. One brings death and the other brings life. Goddess Yamuna is also addressed by the names Yami and Kalindi. The name Kalindi comes from her association with Yama. Yama who is the god of death and darkness gives this name to his twin. Other legends believe that her association with Kalinda mountain is the reason she is known as Kalindi.
Shiva wandered the surface of the Earth in the sorrow of his late wife, Sati. When Kamadev shot Lord Shiva with the love arrow, he became mad with frenzy and jumped into the river to overcome his urges. The river soon took the colour of his feelings and emotions of loneliness and sadness and turned black.
The Yamuna is associated majorly with tales of Lord Shri Krishna as well. It is also said that the word Kalindi comes from her association with the famous story of Kaliya Daman. Lord Krishna cleverly jumps into the river Yamuna and finds the serpent king Kaliya. Kaliya had caused havoc in Vrindavan which bothered Lord Krishna. He ordered the king to leave the Yamuna river and never to return. Krishna had spent many of his childhood and teenage years on the banks of the Yamuna river either with his friends or his elder brother – Balarama.
Another story depicting the importance of the river Yamuna in Mahabharata is when Vasudeva had to cross the river to keep his son safe in Vrindavan. The river had split in half giving way to Vasudev to cross the river safely and take Krishna to Gokul. Yama, Shani. Ashwins, Tapati and Shraddhadeva Manu are the siblings of the river Yamuna. She is married to Krishna and is part of his Ashtabharya. She has ten children namely Kavi, Vrsa, Vira, Subahu, Santi, Darsa, Purnamasa, Bhadra, Somaka (youngest) and Shruta (eldest).
The Bhagavata Purana tells the story of how the Yamuna became the wife of Krishna. Once Krishna was visiting the Pandavas. On the banks of the river Yamuna, Krishna noticed a beautiful woman. Upon inquiring he came to know that she was Kalindi, daughter of Surya and Sanjana. He was taken aback by her beauty and readily agreed to marry her. They started their journey to Dwarka and began their marital life. The Yamuna is considered one of the many holy rivers and a part of the Triveni Sangam. It is said that drinking her water leads to a person’s sins being washed off.
Click here to read about Narmada – The Revered River Goddess.
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