Yamuna Bridge – Vrindavan Keshi Ghat May 2010

Maharaja Pariksit, just after receiving the news of his death within seven days, at once retired from family life and shifted himself to the sacred bank of the Yamuna River. Generally it is said that the King took shelter on the bank of the Ganges, but according to Srila Jiva Gosvami, the King took shelter on the bank of the Yamuna. Srila Jiva Gosvami’s statement appears to be more accurate because of the geographical situation. Maharaja Pariksit resided in his capital Hastinapura, situated near present Delhi, and the River Yamuna flows down past the city. Naturally the King would take shelter of the River Yamuna because she was flowing past his palace door. And as far as sanctity is concerned, the River Yamuna is more directly connected with Lord Krsna than the Ganges. The Lord sanctified the River Yamuna from the beginning of His transcendental pastimes in the world. While His father Vasudeva was crossing the Yamuna with the baby Lord Krsna for a safe place at Gokula on the other bank of the river from Mathura, the Lord fell down in the river, and by the dust of His lotus feet the river at once became sanctified. 

It is especially mentioned herein that Maharaja Pariksit took shelter of that particular river which is beautifully flowing, carrying the dust of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna, mixed with tulasi leaves. Lord Krsna’s lotus feet are always besmeared with the tulasi leaves, and thus as soon as His lotus feet contact the water of the Ganges and the Yamuna, the rivers become at once sanctified. The Lord, however, contacted the River Yamuna more than the Ganges. 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 Visnu are equal to one name of Rama, and three names of Lord Rama are equal to one name of Krsna. (SB 1.19.6 purport)

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Yamuna River at New Delhi

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Yamuna River Now Toxic, Unfit Even for Bathing

by Malvika Baru Sharma
The Pioneer (New Delhi)

The River Yamuna, having been declared dead with its water all poisonous from 22 drains from all over Delhi feeding 800 million gallons of sewage into it per day, can kill a healthy human being. It’s the rapid industrialisation that is helping the inevitable pollution to the river, pointed out Robert Oates, director, Thames Rivers Restoration Trust (TRRT) — and the industrial revolution of India is 10 times that of England when it took place.

“It is not just Government’s but every citizen of Delhi’s responsibility to make sure that the river’s cleanliness is restored and its purity revived,” he said. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH); South Asia Network for Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP); Toxics Link; and Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA) organised a lecture by Robert Oates of TRRT in the Indian capital on Tuesday.

In a presentation, the TRRT detailed how the whole Thames River restoration project was undertaken. TRRT is an independent charity in the UK dedicated to improving the Thames River in London and its tributaries to benefit people and nature, and it has done some pioneering work in recent years. Robert explained that all the difficulties TRRT had to face 150 years back will not be faced by Delhi’s governance with all its knowledge and technical advances like geographic information systems at their behest. “It might not take as long as 50 years for the whole restoration project of the Yamuna. It might take even less than 15 years if all goes to plan,” he said.

The Yamuna today is what London’s Thames was 150 years ago, with all its water polluted almost irrevocably. It seemed impossible to restore the Thames to its natural state, but it was good governance that brought life back to the river. Oates was there to share all the experiences of reviving the Thames and to see if there were lessons for the efforts to help revive the River Yamuna in Delhi. INTACH chairman S. K. Mishra, Ramaswamy Iyer and Manoj Mishra of YJA pointed out, along with Oates, the right measures that should be undertaken to improve the health of the Yamuna.

The drains dumping the sewage and the encumbered water flow are the two major causes that impede the river. “There are just 17 sewage treatment plants which are not functioning to their designed capacity, to serve the drains feeding 1,200 km of the Yamuna…. Instead, the government is investing 1,500 crore rupees (240 million euros or $325 million U.S.) on an interception treatment plant which is not even capable of treating the sewage,” said the presentation.