The Yamuna River originates from the Yamunotri Glacier near the Bandarpunch Mountains in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. It is the only right bank tributary of the Ganga, and the longest tributary of the Ganges among Indian rivers - larger than the Ganga itself at their confluence in Prayagraj.
Course: Flowing through Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh, the Yamuna finally merges with the Ganga at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj. Its chief tributary is the Chambal River, which merges with the Yamuna at 'Pachnada' near Etawah, along with the Kunwari, Sind, and Pahuj rivers - a confluence famous for river dolphin sightings.
Origin Story: In Hinduism, the Yamuna is revered as a goddess, depicted as the daughter of the sun god Surya and his wife Saranyu. She is also known as Yami, twin sister of Yama, the god of death. In tales of Krishna, when Vasudeva carried the infant Krishna across a flooding Yamuna, the river parted to let them pass - and in many legends, Yamuna is considered Krishna's wife. Another name for the river, Kalindi, comes from when the serpent Kalia turned its waters dark with poison before Krishna slayed him.
Key Places: Yamunotri is one of the four Chhota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. Kesi Ghat in Mathura is believed to be where Krishna killed the demon Kesi. The river flows past some of India's most iconic landmarks, including the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Krishna Janmasthan Temple in Mathura, the temples of Vrindavan, and Raj Ghat in Delhi, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. Major cities on its banks include Delhi, Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan, and Prayagraj, site of the Kumbh Mela held every twelve years.