The Vaitarani (Sanskrit: वैतरणी, romanized: Vaitaraṇī), also called the Vaitarana, is a river in Indian religions. Described in the Garuda Purana and various other Hindu religious texts, the Vaitarani lies between the Earth and the infernal Naraka, the realm of Yama, the Hindu god of death. It is believed to be capable of purifying sins. The righteous are stated to see the river filled with nectar-like water, while the sinful see it filled with blood.[1][2] The Vaitarani is similar to the Styx river in Greek mythology.
It is associated with the Vaitarani Vrata, observed on the eleventh day of the dark phase of the moon; the Krishna Paksha of Margashirsha in the Hindu calendar, wherein a cow is worshiped and donated, which is believed to take one across the dreaded river as mentioned in the Garuda Purana, verses 77–82.[3][4]