High in the western Garhwal Himalayas below the Bandarpunch peak, near the glacial source of the Yamuna, Yamunotri is the first shrine of the Chota Char Dham, where the pilgrimage traditionally begins. It is dedicated to the goddess Yamuna — daughter of Surya, the Sun, and twin sister of Yama, the lord of death. Because Yamuna once won a boon from her brother, tradition holds that whoever bathes devoutly in her waters is freed from the fear of an untimely death; the Skanda Purana links the two through the festival of Bhai Dooj, or Yama Dwitiya.
The site is remembered as the hermitage of the sage Asit Muni, who bathed daily in both the Ganga and the Yamuna; when age prevented his journey, it is said, a stream of the Ganga appeared here beside the Yamuna so that he might continue his devotions.
Beside the temple bubbles the Surya Kund, a hot spring so warm that pilgrims cook rice and potatoes in it as prasad, and the sacred Divya Shila is honoured before darshan. Reached by a mountain trek and open only in the warmer months, Yamunotri opens the great Himalayan yatra.
