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Yamuna River
About Yamuna River

The Yamuna sometimes called Jamuna or Jamuna, is the largest tributary river of the Ganges (Ganga) in northern India. It originates from the Yamunotri Glacier at an elevation of 6,387 metres on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks in the uppermost region of the Lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of 1,376 kms and has a drainage system of 366,223 square kilometres , 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin, before merging with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, the site for the Kumbha Mela which takes place after every twelve years.

It crosses several states, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and while passes through Himachal Pradesh and later Delhi, it meets some of its tributaries on the way, including Tons, its largest and longest tributary in Uttarakhand, Chambal, which has its own large basin, followed by Sindh, the Betwa, and Ken. Most prominently it creates the highly fertile alluvial, Yamuna-Ganges Doab region between itself and the Ganges in the Indo-Gangetic plain.

Just like the Ganges, the Yamuna also is highly honored in Hinduism and is worshipped as goddess Yamuna, throughout its course. In Hindu mythology, she is the daughter of Sun God, Surya, and sister of Yama, the God of Death, hence also known as Yami and according to popular legends, bathing in its sacred waters frees one from the sufferings of death.

The water of Yamuna is of "reasonably good quality" through its length from Yamunotri in the Himalayas to Wazirabad in Delhi, about 375 km, where the discharge of waste water through 15 drains between Okhla barrage and Wazirabad barrage renders the river harshly polluted after Wazirabad in Delhi.

 
Religious Significance

The goddess of the river, also known as Yami, is the sister of Yama, god of death, and the daughter of Surya, the Sun god, and his wife Saranyu. Yamuna, referred to respectfully as Yamunaji, holds a very important position in Pushti Marga, a sect of Hinduism based on the Shuddh Advaita, in which Shri Krsna is the main deity, propagated by Vallabh Acharya / Maha Prabhuji, and having a large following in India.

The river Yamuna is also connected to the religious beliefs surrounding Krishna and various stories connected with Him are found in Hindu religious texts, especially the Puranas, like that of Kaliya Daman, the subduing of Kaliya, a toxic Nāga snake, which had inhabited the river and terrorized the people of Braja. Yamuna, according to the legends, is closely related to Lord Krishna and Mahabharata. Krishna was taken across the Yamuna on the night of his birth. Kansa, Krishna's maternal uncle planned to kill all his nephews, as his eighth nephew was predicted to be his Kāla. When Vasudeva, carrying Krishna in a basket, reaches the river Yamuna, on the extremely turbulent, rainy night of Krishna's birth, Yamuna is said to have parted to make way for Vasudeva. Krishna and the Gopis also used to play on the banks of the Yamunaji as children.

 
Ancient Literature and History

Literally meaning "twins" in Sanskrit, as it runs parallel to the Ganges, its name is mentioned at many places in the Rig Veda, written during the Vedic period ca between 1700–1100 BC, and also in the later Atharvaveda, and the Brahmanas including Aitareya Brahmana and Shatapatha Brahmana. In Rig Veda, the story of the Yamuna describes her "excessive love" for her twin, Yama, who in turn asks her to find a suitable match for herself, which she does in Krishna. The tale is further detailed in the 16th century Sanskrit hymn, Yamunashtakam, an rhyme by philosopher Vallabhacharya. Here the story of descent to meet her adored Krishna and to purify the world has been put in verse. The song also praises her for being the source of all spiritual abilities, while the Ganges is considered an embodiment of simplicity and higher knowledge and can grant us Moksha orliberation, it is Yamuna, who being a holder of infinite love and sympathy, can grant us freedom from even death, the dominion of her elder brother. She rushes down the Kalinda Mountain, and verily describes her as the daughter of Kalinda, giving her another name, Kalindi, the backdrop of Krishna Leela. The text also talk about her water being of the colour of Lord Krishna, which is dark (Shyam).

In Mahabharata, Indraprastha, the capital of Pandavas was also situated on the banks of Yamuna, it is considered to the modern day city of Delhi.

Geological evidence indicates that in the distant past the Yamuna was a tributary of the Ghaggar River (also known as the Vedic Sarasvati River), but that it later changed its course eastward due to a tectonic event, becoming a tributary of the Ganges. However, recent geological research suggests that the distraction of the Yamuna to the Ganges may have occurred during the Pleistocene, and thus could not be connected to the decline of the Harappan civilization in the region.

The importance of the Ganges–Yamuna river basin, and the Doab region as traditional the seat of power, can be derived from the fact, in much of early history of India, most of great empires, which ruled over majority of India, until the Chalukyas King, Vinayaditya, were based in the highly fertile Ganges–Yamuna basin, including the Magadha (ca 600 BC), Maurya Empire (321–185 BC), Sunga Empire(185–73 BCE), Kushan Empire (1st–3rd centuries CE), Gupta Empire (280–550 CE), and many had their capitals here, in cities likePataliputra or Mathura.

Course and catchment

The source of Yamuna lies in the Yamunotri Glacier at a height 6,387 metres, on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks, which lies in the Mussoorie range of Lower Himalayas, in the Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, north of Haridwar. Yamunotri temple, a shrine dedicated to the goddess, Yamuna is one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism, and part of the Chota Char Dham Yatra circuit. Also standing close to the temple, on its 13 km trek route, that follows the right bank of the river, lies the Markendeya Tirtha, where the sage Markandeya wrote the Markandeya Purana.

From here it flows southwards, for about 200 km through the Lower Himalayas and the Shivalik Hills Range and morainic deposited are found in its steep Upper Yamuna village, highlighted with geomorphic features such as interlocking spurs, stream terraces , and steep rock benches. Large terraces formed over a long period of time can be seen in the lower course of the river, like ones near Naugoan.

An important part of its early catchment area totalling 2,320 sq kms lies in Himachal Pradesh, and an important tributary draining the Upper Catchment Area is the Tons, Yamuna's largest and longest tributary, which rises from the Hari-ki-dun valley and holds water more than the main stream, which it merges after Kalsi near Dehradun. The whole drainage system of the river extends all the way between Giri-Sutlej catchment in Himachal and Yamuna-Bhilangna catchment in Garhwal, indeed the southern ridge of Shimla is also drained into this system. Kalanag (6,387 metres (20,955 ft)) is the highest point of the entire Yamuna basin.

Thereafter the river descends on to the plains of Doon Valley, at Dak Pathar near Dehradun. Here through a weir dam, the water is diverted into a canal for power generation, little further down where Yamuna is met by the Assan River, lies the Assan barrage, which hosts a Bird Sanctuary as well.

After passing the Sikh pilgrimage town of Paonta Sahib, it reaches Tajewala in Yamuna Nagar district, of Haryana, where a dam built in 1873, is the originating place of two important canals, the Western Yamuna Canal and Eastern Yamuna Canal, which irrigate the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Yamuna also creates natural state borders between the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand states, and further down between the state of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Along with the Ganges to which run almost parallel after it touches the Indo-Gangetic plain, the largest alluvial fertile plain in the world, it creates the Ganges-Yamuna Doab region which spreads across 69,000 sq kms, one-third of the entire plain, and today known for its agricultural outputs, prominent among them is the cultivation of Basmati Rice. The plain itself supports one-third of India's population through its farming.

Geography and wildlife

The catchment area of the river, especially till its touches the plains, is replete with alpine, semi alpine, temperate and sub-tropical vegetation, and vast areas are under forest cover, and supports extensive animal life.

Yamuna is the frontier of the Asian Elephant. West of the Yamuna, there are no elephants to be found over 900 km of the western Himalayas and their foothills. The forests of the lower Yamuna offer idyllic corridors for elephant movement. The principal forests to be found here are of sal, khair (acacia), and sissoo (rosewood) trees, and the Chir Pine forests of the Shivalik Hills.

Important tributaries of Yamuna River

Ken River
It flows through Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, it originates near village Ahirgawan in Jabalpur district and travels a distance of 427 km, before merging with the Yamuna at Chilla village, near Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, and has an overall drainage basin of 28,058 km2.

Chambal River
Chambal River also known as Charmanvati in ancient times, it flows through Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, with a drainage basin of 143,219 km2 and traverses a total distance of 960 km, from its source in Vindhya Range.

Tons River
It is Yamuna's largest and longest tributary which rises in the 20,720 ft (6,315 m) high Bandarpoonch mountain, and has a large basin in Himachal Pradesh. It meets Yamuna below Kalsi near Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Hindon River
It originates in the Saharanpur District, from Upper Shivalik in Lower Himalayan Range.

Quotes on Yamuna

• "Simply by bathing in the Yamuna, anyone can diminish the reactions of his sinful activities."

• "By taking bath in the Yamuna River people are liberated and become Krishna conscious."

• "The Yamuna River washed Krishna's lotus feet when the Lord appeared in Vrindavana five thousand years ago. Lord Krishna sported daily with his boys and girlfriends in the Yamuna River and consequently that river is also caranamrita."

• "One should not give up the process of severity. If possible, one should bathe in the water of the Yamuna. This is an item of severity. Therefore, our Krishna consciousness movement has established a center in Vrindavana so that one may bathe in the Yamuna, chant the Hare Krishna mantra and then become perfect and return back to Godhead."

• "There are many devotees in Vrindavana who regularly bathe in the Yamuna, and this cleanses all the contamination of the material world."

• "According to the Varaha Purana as quoted by Srila Jiva Gosvami there is no difference between the water of the Ganges and the Yamuna but when the water of the Ganges is sanctified one hundred times, it is called the Yamuna. Similarly, it is said in the scriptures that one thousand names of Vishnu are equal to one name of Rama and three names of Lord Rama are equal to one name of Krishna."

Pollution

In 1909 the waters of the Yamuna were distinguishable as "clear blue", as compared to the silt-laden yellow of the Ganges. However, due to high density population growth and rapid industrialization today Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, especially around New Delhi, the capital of India, which dumps about 58% of its waste into the river.

 

 


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