Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 32
तत्र वैतरणीनाम नदी पूर्वं परिश्रुता । स्रोतोभ्यां सा महाभाग तत्र संस्था सदैव हि
tatra vaitaraṇīnāma nadī pūrvaṃ pariśrutā | srotobhyāṃ sā mahābhāga tatra saṃsthā sadaiva hi
അവിടെ ‘വൈതരണി’ എന്ന നദി പുരാതനപ്രസിദ്ധിയാൽ അറിയപ്പെടുന്നു. ഓ മഹാഭാഗ, അവൾ അവിടെ എന്നും രണ്ട് സ്രോതസ്സുകളായി ഒഴുകി നിലകൊള്ളുന്നു.
Skanda (deduced)
Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī
Type: river
Listener: Addressed as ‘mahābhāga’ (fortunate one) within the narrative frame
Scene: A vast river at the edge of Yama’s realm, visibly split into two channels; one dark and ominous, the other clearer; the river appears timeless, ‘standing there forever’.
FAQs
The Purāṇa frames the afterlife as a real moral landscape, where obstacles like Vaitaraṇī reflect ethical outcomes.
Vaitaraṇī is described as an otherworldly river on Yama’s route; it is not a terrestrial tirtha in this verse’s immediate sense.
Not in this verse; later verses connect crossing assistance with dāna (notably go-dāna).
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