In the fifth verse of Her Thiruppavai, Andal extols the Yamuna river. The Yamuna is special, because it helped Lord Krishna. The flooded Yamuna parts and makes way for Vasudeva to cross over and take baby Krishna to safety. So, the river Yamuna acquires sanctity and fame. The association with Krishna makes the river auspicious. When ritual rites are performed, there is the possibility of deficiencies. So, to nullify the effects of these deficiencies, we perform prayaschitta homam. But here again, there may be flaws in our effort. So, at the end of it all, we say, “krishNanu smaraNam param.” So, the association with Krishna purifies, and saves us from the effects of the mistakes in ritual performance. In fact, the entire Krishna avatara is itself in the nature of a yaga, said M.S. Srikanth, in a discourse.
Preparations for a yaga are elaborate. Two pieces of araNi wood are rubbed together to produce a fire, and this flame is brought from the forest and placed in the homa kunda. Vasudeva and Devaki are like the two pieces of araNi wood. They are blessed with Krishna as their son, and Krishna is akin to the sacrificial fire. This fire, namely Krishna, is taken by Vasudeva across the Yamuna, with Adisesha spreading his thousand hood as protection for the infant, and also calling out salutations to the Lord. This fire (Krishna) is placed by Vasudeva in the house of Nandagopa, whose house therefore becomes the gArhapatya homa kunda. For twelve years, the fire called Krishna sparkles in Gokula. When He is in Brindavana, He is like the Ahavaniya agni. When He is in Dwaraka, He is like the Dakshina agni. The gArhapatya agni, Ahavaniya agni and Dakshina agni are the three most important sacrificial fires, and thus Krishna, throughout His avatara, is like a yaga.