Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 73
नदी वैतरणी दृष्टा सर्वपापप्रणाशिनी । शीतलं सलिलं यत्र पिबन्ति ह्यमृतोपमम्
nadī vaitaraṇī dṛṣṭā sarvapāpapraṇāśinī | śītalaṃ salilaṃ yatra pibanti hyamṛtopamam
They saw the river Vaitaraṇī, the destroyer of all sins—where the water is cool, and people drink it as though it were nectar.
Narrator
Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī
Type: river
Scene: A cool, luminous river in Yama’s realm—Vaitaraṇī—whose waters appear nectar-like to some; pilgrims/souls cup the water in their hands and drink with relief.
FAQs
Purification is portrayed as real and experiential in Purāṇic cosmology—sin is not merely ‘forgiven’ but washed away through dharmic order and sacred currents.
Vaitaraṇī is presented as a purifying river in the afterlife landscape; within the chapter’s arc it complements the Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-merit theme by contrast and symbolism.
No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse describes drinking the cool waters as nectar-like, emphasizing cleansing and relief.