The Yamunā is the holy river that flows through the land of Vraja, past Mathurā, Gokula and Vṛndāvana. She is one of the most celebrated tīrthas (holy places) of Bhārata.

In the 10th Skandha of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, the Yamunā appears at two of the greatest moments of the avatāra of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. First, Vasudeva crossed her with the infant Kṛshṇa on the night of his birth, and she parted her waters and touched the child’s feet in reverence. Second, Kṛshṇa subdued the serpent Kālīya, who had poisoned a deep pool of the Yamunā, and made the river pure again.

The Yamunā on the night of Kṛshṇa’s birth

On the night of Kṛshṇa’s birth, in the prison of Mathurā, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself directed Vasudeva to carry the infant to Gokula. The gates of the prison opened on their own, and the guards slept. But the Yamunā was in flood, deep, wild and wide. Vasudeva placed the infant Kṛshṇa in a basket on his head and entered the swollen river.

The Bhāgavata records the reverence of the Yamunā. As Vasudeva waded in and the waters rose, the river knew the Supreme in the basket above him. She parted her currents and made a path. She touched the lotus feet of the infant, as the paramahaṃsas (the highest renunciants) touch the feet of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Vasudeva crossed safely. Ādiśesha, in serpent form, sheltered the child from the rain from behind, like an umbrella. In this way the Yamunā became the first tīrtha made holy by the touch of Kṛshṇa in this avatāra.

Kālīya poisons the Yamunā

A deep whirling pool (hrada) of the Yamunā near Vṛndāvana had become the home of the nāgarāja (king of serpents) Kālīya. His venom was so strong that the whole pool, and much of the river’s water in that stretch, became deadly. The banks around it became empty and bare. Birds flying overhead fell dead. The gopāla-bālas (the cowherd boys) and their calves fell unconscious when they drank from those waters.

Kālīya had come to this pool because Garuḍa, who from time to time hunted the serpents of the Yamunā, could not enter this one pool. A śāpa (a curse) laid there by the ṛshi Saubhari kept him out. Kālīya settled in the Yamunā under the shelter of that śāpa and made the pool his own.

Kālīya Mardana and the cleansing of the Yamunā

To protect the gopas and to cleanse the river, Kṛshṇa leapt from a kadamba tree on the bank into Kālīya’s pool. He subdued the great serpent by dancing on his hundred and one hoods until Kālīya gave himself up completely. At the prayer of the nāgapatnīs (the serpent’s wives), Kṛshṇa let Kālīya go and commanded him to leave for Ramaṇaka Dvīpa in the ocean.

When Kālīya had gone, the waters of the Yamunā were purified at once. The poison cleared, and the river returned to her clear, holy, life-giving nature. The gopas kept an all-night vigil on the banks in gratitude. The Bhāgavata describes the return of the Yamunā’s purity as one of the fruits of Kṛshṇa’s Kālīya Mardana.

The Yamunā in the seasons

Chapter 20 of the 10th Skandha of the Bhāgavata describes the rainy season (varsha) and the autumn (śarad). It includes descriptions of the Yamunā. Her banks and waters in the rains and in autumn are the setting for the continued pastimes of Kṛshṇa with the gopāla-bālas. The beauty of the river and her reflections of cloud and moonlight are part of the dharma lessons woven into these seasonal descriptions.

Yamunādvīpa, the island of Ambā

In the Ambopākhyāna Parva of the Udyoga Parva, the Yamunā appears in a very different light. Ambā did tapas (austerity) for twelve years at various tīrthas, including the banks of the Yamunā. At last she came to Yamunādvīpa, an island in the Yamunā, which was her final stop. There she lit a fire and gave up her life in it, calling for the death of Bhīshma. She was later born again as Śikhaṇḍī in the house of Drupada.

Sources

Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 10th Skandha, Chapters 3, 16 and 20
Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 3
Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Ambopākhyāna Parva