Meaning of Yamuna – What does the word Yamuna mean?

Yamuna is one of the holy rivers in Hinduism. But what does the word Yamuna mean? Meaning of the term Yamuna is ‘twin’. In Rig Veda, Yamuna is worshipped as Yami, the twin sister of Yama, the God of Death.

As per Puranas, Yamuna is the daughter of Surya, the sun god, and Samjna, the daughter of the divine architect Vishwakarma.

Curse of Surya and Yamuna

As per Markandeya Purana, Surya approached Samjna, she being unable to tolerate her brilliance closed her eyes in fear. Surya saw this as an insult and cursed her to give birth to a River. This is the River Yamuna.

Some Facts About Yamuna

Yamuna is the right bank tributary of Ganga River.

It rises at Yamunotri Glacier situated at the western slope of Bandarpoonch (Bandarpunch).

The Yamuna flows towards the south upto Agra and farther down towards the southeast direction till it joins the Ganga at Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad).

Chambal, Sind, Betwa and Ken are its important tributaries and join it at its right bank.

The length of Yamuna from its source up to Prayagraj is 1300 km.