Janmashtami 2026: Lord Krishna had a sister Yogamaya who was also born on the same ashtami night. She also has a connection with Delhi's Mehrauli and Vindhyavasini

Krishna Janmashatami 2026: As devotees across India celebrate Janmashtami 2026 on Friday, September 4, the story of Lord Krishna's birth brings another figure into focus, Yogamaya, the divine girl associated with Krishna's birth and regarded in tradition as his sister. Her story is closely linked to the events surrounding Krishna's birth and, according to religious tradition, to two important places of worship, the Yogmaya Temple in Delhi's Mehrauli and the Vindhyavasini shrine in Vindhyachal.

Krishna's birth is celebrated at midnight on the eighth day, or Ashtami, of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. According to the traditional account, Yogamaya was born on the same night.

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While Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in Mathura, Yogmaya was born to Yashoda and Nanda. Vasudeva later carried Krishna across the Yamuna to Gokul and brought Yashoda's newborn daughter back to Mathura.

Who was Yogamaya?

The story of Yogamaya appears in the Bhagavata Purana. She plays an important role in the events surrounding Krishna's birth. Kamsa, who had been warned that Devaki's eighth child would be responsible for his death, had imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva. When he saw the newborn girl instead of Krishna, he tried to kill her.

But the child slipped from his hands and appeared in the sky in a divine form. She warned Kamsa that the child who would eventually defeat him had already been born elsewhere. This is the reason Yogamaya is remembered alongside the story of Krishna's birth. She was not simply another character in the birth narrative. Her appearance helped protect Krishna's identity and marked the beginning of Kamsa's downfall.

Why is Yogamaya linked to Krishna's sister?

In Hindu tradition, the girl who was exchanged with Krishna is regarded as his sister. Different religious traditions identify her with Yogamaya, Mahamaya or other forms of the divine feminine. The tradition also connects her with the goddess Vindhyavasini. This is where the story moves beyond Mathura and Gokul and reaches Vindhyachal and Delhi.

Yogamaya Temple in Mehrauli

Delhi has an unusual connection with Krishna's sister through the ancient Yogmaya Temple in Mehrauli. Located close to the Qutb complex, the temple is dedicated to Goddess Yogmaya. Local religious tradition identifies the deity worshipped here with the sister of Krishna. The shrine remains an active place of worship in Mehrauli.

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The temple's history is surrounded by several traditions. Some accounts associate the shrine with ancient Delhi and the area known as Yoginipura. Other traditions attribute the original shrine to the Pandavas. These claims belong to the religious and local traditions surrounding the temple and should not be confused with firmly established archaeological history.

The present temple structure is associated with the early 19th century, with accounts placing its rebuilding in 1827 during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar II.The temple also has a connection with Delhi's famous Phool Walon Ki Sair, in which floral offerings are taken to the Yogmaya Temple as well as the nearby shrine of Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki.

From Yogamaya to Vindhyavasini

The other major link in the story is Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh. According to a widely followed tradition, after escaping from Kamsa, Yogamaya manifested as Goddess Vindhyavasini and took her abode in the Vindhya mountains. The Vindhyavasini Devi Temple at Vindhyachal is therefore associated with the goddess who appears in the Krishna birth story.

Vindhyavasini is worshipped as a form of the goddess, and her identity is connected with several names and traditions in Hindu religious literature. This creates a distinctive religious connection: the same divine figure associated with Krishna's birth is worshipped as Yogmaya in Mehrauli and as Vindhyavasini in Vindhyachal, according to tradition.

Why Yogamaya matters on Janmashtami

Janmashtami is usually remembered for Krishna's midnight birth, but the story of Yogamaya is an important part of the same narrative. Krishna was born in the prison of Mathura while Yogamaya appeared as the girl who was taken back to Kamsa. Her escape from Kamsa's hands and warning to him became one of the turning points in the story.

For devotees, the two births on the same Ashtami night are therefore connected. Krishna's journey from Mathura to Gokul changed the course of the story. Yogamaya's appearance before Kamsa announced what was to come.

A lesser-known Delhi connection to Janmashtami

For many people in Delhi, the Yogmaya Temple provides a local connection to a story usually associated with Mathura and Vrindavan. The shrine stands in Mehrauli, close to the Qutb complex, and continues to be associated with Yogmaya, the goddess regarded in tradition as Krishna's sister.

So, while Mathura and Vrindavan remain at the centre of Janmashtami celebrations, the story of Krishna's birth also leads to an old temple in south Delhi and to the Vindhyachal shrine of Vindhyavasini.

That is what makes the story of Yogamaya an interesting part of Janmashtami, her story begins on the same night Krishna was born, but her worship continues in traditions that stretch from the Krishna legend to Mehrauli and Vindhyachal.