Sananda also told Nanda how the Yamuna came to Vraja. The river they knew beside their villages had traveled far. In this account her journey begins in Goloka. Krishna called her to make her way toward the earth. First the Yamuna circled Him in reverence.
Then her current left the celestial country. She passed through what the account describes as many worlds. Other sacred waters met her along the way. The river's force seemed to grow as she moved. Sananda followed her in words like a distant traveler.
From the heights the Yamuna descended toward the mountains. Her course parted from that of the Ganga. She reached Kalinda and came to be called Kalindi. She moved past rocks and valleys in her own strength. Her waters continued toward the places that awaited them.
When she entered Vraja, the landscape gained new beauty. She flowed near Vrindavan, Mathura, and Mahavana. Paths for the cowherds opened along her banks. There would be places to rest and play by the water. For the residents, the river became part of home.
The account also presents the Yamuna as someone who loves. She is more than water passing between two banks. Her nearness to Krishna gives her a voice of her own. In Vraja she recognizes the setting of His pastimes. Here her long journey becomes a meeting.
As she moved onward, she felt sorrow at leaving Vraja. The source describes her current turning back. It is as though she wished to see the land once more. Sananda describes the change in the language of love. Even a river can long for a place she must leave.
The Yamuna reached other sacred places as well. In the story she speaks to the Ganga with mutual respect. Each has her own path, yet the two are connected. Their conversation does not erase Vraja's special place. It recalls the joy of the Yamuna's arrival there.
A child on the bank might see only water and lotuses. A herder might see a path beside the current. The gopīs might connect the river to their memories. All these views belong to the same Yamuna. Sananda adds another: the tale of her long journey.
Many later events will take place beside the Yamuna. This chapter stands before those accounts. It invites us to see the river as a participant. Her waters connect a journey with a home. Vraja would not look the same without her.
Nanda heard the tale beside a river he knew well. Now he understood the tenderness carried by her name. Each wave could recall that faraway path. Every return to the bank became a fresh greeting. The Yamuna remained close to Krishna's life in Vraja.