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About
Yamuna River |
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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.
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Religious Significance |
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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. |
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Ancient Literature and History |
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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. |
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Course and catchment |
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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. |
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Geography and wildlife |
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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. |
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Important tributaries of Yamuna River |
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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. |
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Quotes on Yamuna |
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"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."
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Pollution |
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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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