Yamunashtakam (Murari Kaya Kalima): Sanskrit Text and Meaning

The Yamunashtakam (“eight verses on the Yamuna”) is a Sanskrit hymn in praise of the river Yamuna, called here Kalindanandini, “the daughter of Mount Kalinda”. It begins murari-kaya-kalima-lalama-vari-dharini, “she who carries waters that hold the dark gleam of Krishna’s body”. Each of its eight verses has the same closing line, dhunotu no mano-malam kalindanandini sada, “may the daughter of Kalinda always wash away the dirt of our minds”, so a group can sing the last line together.

The printed editions credit the hymn to Shankara Bhagavatpada, whom tradition identifies with Adi Shankara. That attribution is traditional and is not certain: a different Yamunashtakam, beginning namami yamunamaham, is credited to Vallabhacharya, and the old prints also contain a second hymn with this name (kripa-paravaram, in a different metre) next to this one. This page gives only the hymn that begins murari-kaya.

The metre is the pancha-chamara, a sixteen-syllable line in which short and long syllables alternate, the same swaying rhythm as the Shiva Tandava Stotram. The long compounds, many of them playing on sounds, suit the picture of a river of waves.

Below are all eight verses in Devanagari with transliteration and a plain meaning, the places where the old editions differ, and a note on how the text was checked.

The text, transliteration and meaning

The closing line is written out in every verse so that each can be read alone.

Text: Shankaracharya-viracitani stotrani, part 2 (Srirangam, 1910), pages 1 to 3 of the hymn, checked against the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara (Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay, 1912, page 323 and following; and three other prints, the oldest of 1892). Transliteration is simplified; meanings are our own.

Where the old prints differ

The old prints fall into two families, and they differ in a handful of words. Both give a clear sense, and singers today mostly follow the first family. This page follows the Srirangam print of 1910, which agrees with common recitation, and records the other family below.

• Closing line. The 1910 print reads dhunotu no manomalam (“may she wash away our mental dirt”). The Brihat Stotra Ratnakara prints (1892, 1912 and others) read dhunotu me manomalam (“my mental dirt”).
• Verse 2, second line. The 1910 print has pravataka-prapancana (a misprint, as the sense and the other prints show). The Brihat Stotra Ratnakara reads prapataka-prapancana, “gravest sins”. This page uses the second form, which is also the one in common use. This is the only word on the page taken from the other family.
• Verse 3, third line. The 1910 print has samvrita (“surrounded”); the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara prints have samsrita (“attended by”).
• Verse 5, third line. The 1910 print has vishardada (“skilled”); the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara prints have nisharada, which gives a less clear sense.
• Verse 8, first line. The 1910 print and one of the other prints read nandi-nanda-keli; the 1912 Nirnaya Sagar print reads nanda-nanda-keli. Both refer to the play of Nanda’s household.
• Verse 1, third line. The 1910 print writes manonukula and the 1912 print mano ’nukula; the second is the correct sandhi and is used here.

The river and the hymn

The Yamuna rises at Yamunotri in the Himalaya, one of the four sites of the Chota Char Dham pilgrimage, and flows past Delhi, Mathura, Vrindavan and Agra to join the Ganga at Prayag. In tradition she is the daughter of Surya, the Sun, and the sister of Yama, the god of death. Her dark water is linked in the hymn to the dark colour of Krishna, who grew up beside her at Gokul and Vrindavan.

Most of the verses place Krishna’s life on her banks: the Rasa dance, Radhika bathing, the groves where the cowherds played, and Narada coming to bathe. The hymn also states the bhakti view of the river, that she purifies the mind and takes the bather across the sea of worldly life. A well-known tradition ties her to Yama’s visit to his sister, which is remembered at Bhai Dooj.

The hymn makes no promise of any result and has no benefit verse. It is an act of praise, to be read for its own sake.

When it is recited

There is no fixed rule. The Yamunashtakam is read by devotees of Krishna on Janmashtami, on Bhai Dooj, and when bathing in the river or visiting Mathura and Vrindavan. Other hymns of praise to rivers and to Krishna on this site are the Narmada Ashtakam and the Krishnashtakam.

Pronunciation notes

Keep the short and long syllables distinct and the lines will find the swing of the metre: mu-RAA-ri-KAA-ya-KAA-li-MAA. The sounds ll in lalama and the long compounds are said without a break. The letter ñ in kuñja and pañcana is the ny of “canyon”. In kalindanandini the first n before d is a dental n. The refrain is dhu-no-tu no ma-no-ma-laṃ ka-lin-da-nan-di-nī sa-dā.

How the text on this page is sourced

The Devanagari follows the proofread transcription on Sanskrit Wikisource of Shankaracharya-viracitani stotrani, part 2 (Srirangam, 1910), and we read its page images. We compared it word by word with the Brihat Stotra Ratnakara: the Nirnaya Sagar Press print of 1912 (read from its page images), the Lakshmi Venkateshwar Press print of 1892, and two other prints. A separate typed Wikisource page was not used, since it is only a link to the scanned print. Where the two families of prints differ, both readings are listed above.

Related mantras and pages

• Narmada Ashtakam: a hymn of praise to the river Narmada
• Krishnashtakam: eight verses to Krishna
• Achyutashtakam: eight verses to Achyuta
• Janmashtami: the birth of Krishna, with dates for your city
• Bhai Dooj: the festival linked to Yama and the Yamuna
• Chota Char Dham: the four Himalayan shrines, among them Yamunotri
• All mantras, stotras, chalisas and aartis

Frequently asked questions