Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 31, 2026

Yamuna Devi

Yamuna Devi, born Joan Agnes Campanella in Butte, Montana, was an American cookbook author, best known for her 1987 International Association of Culinary Professionals/Seagram winning cookbook, Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking.

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Yamunā Devī Dāsī
Born
Joan Agnes Campanella

(1942-05-19)May 19, 1942
Butte, Montana
DiedDecember 20, 2011(2011-12-20) (aged 69)
Occupation
  • Cookbook author
Notable workLord Krishna's Cuisine (1987)
Yamuna's Table (1993)

Yamuna Devi (also Yamunā Devī Dāsī; 19 May 1942 – 20 December 2011), born Joan Agnes Campanella in Butte, Montana, was an American cookbook author, best known for her 1987 International Association of Culinary Professionals/Seagram winning cookbook, Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking.1

She was a senior member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).23

Life

Yamuna Devi was part of the early 1960s Beat Generation in North Beach, San Francisco4 before meeting A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in New York City in 1966; she became an initiated disciple in 1967.56 In 1968, with five other Hare Krishna followers, Devi flew to London to establish ISKCON in the United Kingdom.7 There, she helped introduce Beatles guitarist George Harrison to Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy and practice.8 She sang co-lead vocals on the 1969 Apple Records "Hare Krishna Mantra" single,9 which reached number 12 in the UK Chart.10 She also sang lead vocals on the 1970 Apple Records "Govinda" single, which reached number 23 in the UK Chart.10 Both appeared on The Radha Krsna Temple album.

From 1970 to 1974, she lived and travelled in India with Srila Prabhupada as part of the World Sankirtan Party.11

She has been cited as an inspiration by figures such as Jahnavi Harrison.121314

Cookbooks

Food writer Russ Parsons wrote in the Los Angeles Times in 1999 that Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking "is an absolutely fabulous book and certainly not for vegetarians only. The food here is that of traditional Indian vegetarian cuisines--from Gujarat to Bengal, Kashmir to Kerala. It is inventive, exotic and subtle."15 Publishers Weekly described it as an "impressive volume" of "elegant dishes [that] might easily grace the most sophisticated table without a whisper of the pedestrian connotations sometimes associated with vegetarian cooking. A prodigious, 800-page labor of love illustrated with lovely, delicate line drawings."16

  • Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. Dutton, 1987. ISBN 978-0525245643.
  • The Best of Lord Krishna's Cuisine: Favorite Recipes from the Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. Penguin, 1991. ISBN 0-452-26683-1.(abridged version of Lord Krishna's Cuisine)
  • Yamuna's Table: Healthful Vegetarian Cuisine Inspired by the Flavors of India. Dutton-Penguin Putnam, 1992. ISBN 978-0525934875.

Awards

Year Awards and honors Book
1993 James Beard Foundation Award: International Yamuna's Table: Healthy Vegetarian Cuisine Inspired by the Flavors of India (1992)17
1988 IACP/Seagram Award: Cookbook of the Year Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking (1987)1
References

References

  1. Balsley, Betsy (1988-04-14). "Indian Cookbook Takes Top Award : IACP/Seagram Winner Is Both Thought-Provoking, Vegetarian". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  2. Bryant, Edwin and Maria Ekstrand (2004). The Hare Krishna movement : the postcharismatic fate of a religious transplant. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780231122566.
  3. Rochford, E. Burke (2007). Hare Krishna Transformed. New York, NY: New York University Press. p. 128. ISBN 9780814775783.
  4. Devi, Dinatarini (2014). Yamuna Devi : a life of unalloyed devotion. Alachua, Florida: Unalloyed. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-9914350-0-5.
  5. Devi, Dinatarini (2014). Yamuna Devi : a life of unalloyed devotion. Alachua, Florida: Unalloyed. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-9914350-0-5.
  6. "Disciples of Srila Prabhupada". Krishna.com. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  7. Oakes, Philip (February 1, 1969). "Chanting Does Wonders For New Missionary Group". The Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta: 25. ISSN 0828-1815. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  8. Greene, Joshua (2006). Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison. London: Bantam. p. 152. ISBN 9780553817966. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  9. Greene, Joshua (2006). Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison. London: Bantam. p. 175. ISBN 9780553817966. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. "UK Official Charts – Radha Krishna Temple". UK Official Charts. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  11. Berne, Suzanne (November 1993). "Last Morsel: East Meets West". Vegetarian Times (195). Active Interest Media, Inc.: 120. ISSN 0164-8497. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  12. "Jahnavi Harrison's First Album Takes Us On an Introspective Journey". ISKCON News. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  13. "On being a voice in the global kirtan choir: Jahnavi Harrison". Hindu American. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  14. "Episode #13 – Jahnavi Harrison, part 2". The Late Morning Program. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  15. Parsons, Russ (June 9, 1999). "Cookbook Watch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  16. "Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  17. "James Beard Awards: Yamuna Devi". James Beard Foundation Award. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
External links