Vaitarani, Hindu River Between the Living and Dead
The concept of the Vaitarani in Indian mythology will be familiar to those in the West. On its surface, it bears a resemblance to the Greek River Styx — a boundary separating the living from the dead. In fact, many Proto-Indo-Europeans cultures believed the underworld was reached by crossing a river. Of course, not all the myths were identical, and the Vaitarani has both superficial and philosophical differences compared to its Greek counterpart.
The river’s waters cleansed one’s sins and allowed their passage to judgment, meaning those that did not sin in life were free from crossing the river. Those that did sin in life experienced a specific version of the river, contingent on the weight of their pious and dreadful deeds. The more sin carried by the deceased, the more chaotic the river’s water. With enough sin, one would see a river of blood. On the other hand, the more righteous the souls experienced a river of calm nectar. The sinners were tormented and dragged across the river by Yama, the Hindu god of death, while others were comfortably ferried across.
Philosophically speaking, as the Vaitarani was embedded in a system of reincarnation, a single soul crossed it more than once over many lifetimes. This behavior contrasts with the River Styx in which souls typically only traveled across once. Consequently, if a soul was cast to hell or rewarded with heaven, their stay was temporary.
*****My debut sci-fi/mythology novel — The Gods Who Chose Us — is available! https://amzn.to/2Bby3hH *****
If you liked the article, please consider following us on Facebook, Medium, and/or Instagram
