Vaitarna River (mythological)

The river is very frightening. When seen, it inspires misery. It is a hundred yojanas in width and does not contain water. Instead, it is a river full of blood and pus, with a bank made of bone. For the sinful, it is impossible to cross the river. They are obstructed by hairy moss, crocodiles, flesh-eating birds, and a great many insects. When a sinner comes near the river, in an attempt to cross, it seethes and becomes overspread with smoke and flame. It is said that the sinful are hungry and thirsty, and so they drink, to fill their emptiness. For those that fall into Vaitarna, there is no rescue. The whirlpools take the fallen into a lower region. For a moment the sinner stays, until they rise to be washed again.

The river was created for the sinful. It is nigh-impossible to cross, and the far bank cannot be seen.

There are a few ways to cross this river. It is important to note that as mentioned in the description of the river, only those souls who have sinned have to cross this river. The souls with good deeds or good karma do not travel on the path through which the Vaitarna River flows.

• The person who commits good deeds in his life and does not have to cross this river.
• A sinner who has done certain meritorious deeds can get a boat to cross the river after travelling on the terrible way of Yama for some time. These deeds include donating a cow, food, wealth or any sacrifice etc.
• It is said that even though a person is a sinner, if he is following a real spiritual guru, the sinner can cross the river holding his Guru's hand.[7]
• If the sinner cannot cross using the above two methods, he has to wait many years till it is decided that he will cross or the servants of Yama drag him through the river.
• The descendants of the sinful soul can help him cross the river by chanting the name "Shree Gurudev Datta". This is the chant for the Hindu god Dattatreya.

After successfully crossing this river, the sinners reach the terrifying Southern Gate of the City of Yama. In this City the sinners along with the souls with good deeds are judged by the Lord of Justice (Yama or Yamaraja). The sinners are taken to hell and the better souls are taken to heaven.

If a soul cannot cross the Vaitarna River then he cannot be taken to hell. He is stuck at its shore. Thus this prevents him from getting reborn on earth as human or animal. These souls are considered as the ghosts who have not passed on and are stuck.

• "One should next proceed to the Vaitarani capable of destroying every sin."
  — Mahabharat, Book 3: Vana Parva: Tirta Yatra Parva: Section LXXXV.[8]
• "O king, by creatures of sinful acts, and the miseries endured by those that fall into the river Vaitarani in the realms of Yama, and the inauspicious wanderings of creatures through diverse wombs, and the character of their residence in the unholy uterus in the midst of blood and water and phlegm and urine and faeces, all of foul smell, and then in bodies that result from the union of blood and the vital seed, of marrow and sinews, ..."
  — Bhishma. Mahabharat, Shanti Parva: Part III. Section CCCII.[9]
• "..The torrent of blood excited fear amongst those who came to see it, as the river Vaitarani on the way to hell (the Lord of Death) is very fearful to the sinners.
  — Devi Bhagawatam, The Third Book, Chapter XV, On the battle between Yudhajit and Virasena.[10]

The Vaitaraṇī Nadī (Sanskrit; Pali: Vetaraṇī Nadī), also known as the Kṣārodaka Nadī (Pali: Khārodakā Nadī) or Kṣāra Nadī (lit. caustic river) is recognized in Buddhism as a river that flows through the hell realm. In East Asia it is known as 灰河地獄 (Chinese: Huīhé dìyù; Japanese: Haiga Jigoku; Korean: 회하지옥, Hoeha-jiok ; Vietnamese: Hôi hà địa ngục; lit. Ash river hell) or transliterated as 鞞多梨尼河 (Chinese: Bǐngduōlíní-hé; Japanese: Baitarini-kawa).

In Pali literature, the river is described as flowing by the forest of sword-leaves Asipattavana. Beings in hell attempt to bathe and drink from it, only to discover that swords and sharp weapons lie concealed beneath its waters. Creepers that bear thorns like spears grow on its banks. Its residents are those who are guilty of abortion and oppressing the weak. In the Nimi Jātaka, (No. 541) the righteous king Nimi was given a tour of the cosmos by Mātali, during which he caught glimpse of the Vetaraṇī in hell.[11]

In Mahāyāna sources such as the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra, the Vaitaraṇī is one of the minor hells (utsada) within the realm of Avīci. Sinners who enter the river are swept downstream to a ground of burning iron. The name also refers to the forest of iron spines that runs along its banks, forming one of the sixteen minor hells situated outside the eight great hells. Rebirth here is the result of killing marine life such as fish or turtles, pushing others to fall into the water, or throwing them into either boiling or freezing water.[12]

• Garuda Purana
• Yama
• Sin
• Dattatreya
• Gjöll - Norse mythology
• Hubur - Mesopotamian mythology
• Sanzu River - Japanese Buddhism
• Styx - Greek mythology

• The Garuda Purana, tr. by Ernest Wood, S. V. Subrahmanyam. BiblioBazaar, LLC. 2008. ISBN 1-4375-3213-6.
• "Siddhabodh" by Gagangiri Maharaj. Gagangad publications. 1998.(Marathi)
• Kalayaan (Year 43) Parlok Aur Punarjanma (World of the Dead and Reincarnation), Gita Press, Gorakhpur. (Hindi)
• Spiritual Science Research Foundation :- Articles on Martyalok