Yamuna

1. Sanskrit. ‘Twin’. Name of a river in northern India. It is the largest tributary river of the Ganges and originates in the Lower Himalayas. It travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers and passes by Delhi and the Taj Mahal (fig.) in Agra before merging with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam in Allahabad. Its Sanskrit name refers to the fact that it runs parallel to the Ganges. According to tradition, bathing in its sacred waters frees one from the torments of death. Also known as Jamuna and Jumna. 回

2. Sanskrit. ‘Twin’. Name of the Hindu goddess, who is a daughter of Surya, the sun god, and the twin sister of Yama, the god of death, as well as his consort. She is also the personification of the North Indian river of the same name. Hence, bathing in its sacred waters is believed to free one from the torments of death. She is also known as Yami and Kalindi. In Thai, she is called Phra Yami (พระยามี) and in Chinese she is known as Yan Mi (閻蜜). In Vedic beliefs Yama and Yami are a divine pair of creator deities, and while Yama is depicted as the Lord of Death, Yami is said to be the Lady of Life. In the Rig Veda, Yama first refused to marry Yami as he considered it incest, yet in the Atharva Veda, Yami is found arguing that since they have slept inside their mother's womb together, it was not wrong to to do so again outside it, and in later tales, they are depicted as partners. See also Kaliya and Diyu. 回