Many miracles occurred on the night of Krishna’s birth. Chains that bound Vasudeva fell off, the prison doors opened, the guards fell into deep sleep, and Vasudeva set off for Gokula. Adisesha and Garuda were with him, protecting and guiding him. But how was he to cross the Yamuna, which was overflowing its banks? Miraculously, the waters parted and made a path for Vasudeva. A river usually moves towards the ocean. Will a river ever reverse course and move upwards? That is what Yamuna seemed to be doing. While this was part of the marvels of Krishna’s birth, one can find a reason for this in the Ramayana, said V.S. Karunakarachariar in a discourse.
Kumbhakarna tells Ravana that he should have asked his ministers and elders for advice, before hastily bringing Sita to Lanka. Instead, he was seeking advice after his act. This was not proper. The river Yamuna, when it comes down from a mountain, fills up the earth in its path. It does not go back in reverse to its point of origin. Seeking advice after the commission of an act was as ridiculous as expecting the Yamuna to go back. Maybe the Lord was impressed with Kumbhakarna’s analogy. He might have wanted to show that the impossible was possible with Him. So, the river, which should rush towards the ocean, moved aside so that baby Krishna could cross it safely.
Vedanta Desika in his Yadavabhyudaya says that the Yamuna moved up so that it seemed as if she was trying to climb the Kalinda mountain, her father’s abode. So, one can imagine that she was like a bride who, on her way to her husband’s place, changes her mind and wonders if she should go back to her father! Desika’s poetic imagination makes Yadavabhyudaya a unique account of Krishna avatara.
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