Yamunotri
The Garhwal Himalaya is a subrange of the Himalayas located in Uttarakhand. It has three peaks: Bandar Poonch I, Bandar Poonch II and the Kala Nag. The river of Yamuna (Kalindi) originates from the western side of the Bandarpoonch glacier. The eastern side of this glacier feeds river Ganga. The Yamuna flows through 1, 376 km before she merges with the Ganga at Prayagraj. The sacred shrine of Yamunotri lies at an altitude of 3,615m on one side of the Bandarpoonch peak.
Bandarpoonch
Some say that after Hanuman set fire to Lanka, he doused the fire in his burning tail in the Himalayas. The snow melted due to the fire and gave rise to the Yamuna (Kalindi). That is why that Himalayan peak is known as Bandar – Poonch. It is believed that Yamuna’s waters are dark because she imbibed the ash that fell off Hanuman’s burning tail.
Kalinda
Kalinda, the mountain, performs an austere penance to please Krishna. Krishna blesses him and says, “O Kalinda, the sins of Kaliyug will never corrupt you. My divine bhakti swaroop will originate from your mountain top. And you will remain eternally pure by her constant presence.”
Kalindi
Years later, Kalindi, Surya’s daughter, the adhibhautik swaroop of Krishna’s essence descends on the mountain top of Kalinda. She then flows through our material world to fulfil Krishna’s boon.
That is why we refer to Yamunaji as Kalindi or Devi Yamuna when we talk of the river Yamuna. We consider all the cities that lie on her banks as pilgrimage centres. And we perform Her seva or pooja and do her snaan or paan to absolve ourselves of the sins of Kaliyuga.
Kalindi and Krishna
Kalindi knew she was not as fortunate as Swaminiji ( adhidaivik swaroop of Krishna) or Shyam Sundar Yamuna Maharani (adhyatmik swaroop of Krishna).
She never got the opportunity of spending time with Krishna in Goloka. So when Vasudev was carrying Krishna across her waters, Kalindi rose to great heights to touch Krishna’s sacred feet. Krishna understood her desire. So He put his little foot out of the basket atop Vasudev’s head and fulfilled her desire.
Swaminiji in Thakurani Ghat in Gokul
People who follow Pushti Marg, the path of grace, believe that the essence of Krishna’s prem, Swaminiji, flowed into the waters of Kalindi at Thakurani Ghat in Gokul during this brief interaction.
So at Thakurani Ghat, we consider Kalindi’s waters to be a form of Swaminiji herself. And whenever we fill our Jhariji, we do so with the bhav that we are filling it from the waters that flow through Thakurani Ghat.
That is why we chant Mahaprabhuji’s Yamunashtak or Gusainji’s Ashtapadhi or read Hariraiji’s Yamuna Vigyapti here. We are specifically seeking the blessings of Swaminiji by chanting/reading any or all of the above.
Shyam Sundar Yamuna Maharani in Vishrant Ghat in Mathura and Vraj
We also believe that the essence of Shyam Sundar Yamuna Maharani flows through the Vishrant Ghat in Mathura and wherever she flows through Vraj. That is why we do Yamuna paan( sip on her waters) alone in these places.
Kalindi in Prayag
But in Prayag, where there is a confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, we worship Kalindi/Devi Yamuna – not Swaminiji or Shyam Sundar Yamuna Maharani.
So here we chant the Yamuna Sahastranama, or the Yamuna kavach or do the paath of Yamuna Devi to seek the blessings of Kalindi/Yamuna Devi.
Yamunaji’s Paan
According to the shastras, we should do Ganga snaan, Yamuna paan and Narmada darshan if we want to absolve ourselves of our sins.
In the Yamunashtak, Mahaprabhuji says, “O Yamuna, your charitra is adbhuta. By doing Yamuna paan, we can overcome our fear of death, Yamayatana – for how can Yama kill the children of his own sister?” So Mahaprabhuji too emphasises on Yamuna paan. Not Yamuna snaan.
The ashta chaap bhakta kavis sang Yamunaji’s padas. Others also composed songs in her glory. Amongst all these 41 padas, only Surdas has composed one pada in which he too questions the need of Yamuna snaan.
Kalindi’s snaan
But all jivas are not aware of such details. Also, they may not have the same intensity of Bhakti within their souls. Some will be highly evolved souls. Such people know that Kalindi, the adhibhautik swaroop, the physical form of Yamunaji contains the essence of Swaminiji within it.
So they will not dare to touch the waters of the Yamuna with their feet for it is akin to touching Krishna Himself with their feet.
But if we bring about a shift in our thoughts and become more inclusive we can understand the essence behind Kalindi’s snaan too. If we consider ourselves to be bhaktas of Yamunaji, we become her children. So when we bathe in her waters we just need to look upon Yamunaji as our mother. And not think of her as having the divine essence of Krishna’s prem.
Yama Dwitiya
Some people believe that if we bathe in the waters of Kalindi on Bhai Beej, Yama Dwitiya, we will not be haunted by the fear of death because Yama is Yamunaji’s brother.
But Mahaprabhuji says, “Even our shastras say that for jivas who yearn for mukti from Yamayatana – fear of death – Yamuna paan alone is enough. And there is nothing like we should do Yamuna snaan only on the day of Bhai beej and not on any other day.”
Mahaprabhuji’s message for Pushti Margiya Vaishnavs
Mahaprabhuji also says, “Pushtimargiya vaishnavs who are aware that the adhidaivik swaroop of Swaminiji dwells within the waters of Yamuna should treat Yamunaji with respect. And even when they do Yamuna paan, they should aspire only for this one thing – that their souls be filled with bhakti for Krishna alone. They should not seek for anything more than that.”
Most people prefer being practical and make the best of both blessings. The reason is simple. They know that they will not get the chance to go on pilgrimages very often. So they do Yamuna snaan only once in their lifetime. After that whenever they get the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage again, they do only Yamuna paan.
Photos given by: Shri. Krishna Akhileshji.
Click here to read more Yamunaji stories.
Click here to read about the Nidhi Swaroops of Pushti Marg.