Yamunāpati (यमुनापति, IAST: Yamunāpati) is a Sanskrit-origin Hindu boy-name meaning “Lord of the river Yamunā”. From yamunā (the sacred river, daughter of the Sun) and pati (lord, master, beloved), this name celebrates Vishnu-Krishna's intimate sovereignty over the holy river Yamunā, on whose banks His most beloved pastimes were enacted.

Meaning, etymology & significance

The Yamunā holds a uniquely personal place in the Krishna tradition: it was in her waters that the infant Krishna was carried across by Vasudeva, on her banks that the rāsa-līlā unfolded, and in her current that countless devotees have sought purification. To call Vishnu 'Lord of the Yamunā' is therefore to invoke not administrative dominion but a love-soaked intimacy — He is pati, the beloved sovereign whose presence sanctifies every ripple of the river. The river herself is considered among His most devoted servants.

Yamunāpati is a well-known and beloved epithet of Lord Krishna, used widely in Vaishnava devotional poetry and temple worship, particularly in the Braj region. As a personal name it is traditional and devotionally resonant; it is pronounced ya-mu-nā-pa-ti with a long ā in yamunā.

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Scriptural source

Yamunāpati appears in the Vishnu Sahasranama, among the sacred names of Vishnu.

Astrology — nakshatra, rashi & numerology

By the standard Vedic correspondence between a name’s first syllable and the lunar mansion, Yamunāpati aligns with the Jyeshtha nakshatra, under the Vrischika rashi (Moon sign). Its Chaldean name-number is 4.