Vaitarani, Vaitaraṇī, Vaitaraṇi: 21 definitions
Introduction:
Vaitarani means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi, Hindi, Tamil. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Vaitarni.
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In Hinduism
Purana and Itihasa (epic history)
Source: Wisdom Library: Varāha-purāṇaVaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).—Name of a river originating from Vindhya, a holy mountain (kulaparvata) in Bhārata, according to the Varāhapurāṇa chapter 85. There are settlements (janapada) where Āryas and Mlecchas dwell who drink water from these rivers.
Bhārata is a region south of Hemādri, once ruled over by Bharata (son of Ṛṣabha), whose ancestral lineage can be traced back to Svāyambhuva Manu, who was created by Brahmā, who was in turn created by Nārāyaṇa, the unknowable all-pervasive primordial being.
The Varāhapurāṇa is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, and was originally composed of 24,000 metrical verses, possibly originating from before the 10th century. It is composed of two parts and Sūta is the main narrator.
Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia1) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).—A hell. (See under Kāla, the Section Naraka).
2) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).—The name of river Ganges when it flows through the world of the Manes. (Mahābhārata Ādi Parva, Chapter 169, Stanza 22).
3) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).—A river. The prominence of this river is given below:
(i) This river stays in the court of Varuṇa and glorifies him. (Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapter 9, Stanza 20).
(ii) This river gives remission of sins. There is a spot called Virajatīrtha, in this river. He who bathes in this holy place would shine like the moon. (Mahābhārata Vana Parva, Chapter 85, Stanza 6).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index1a) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).—(Vaitaraṇam) one of twenty-eight hells. Intended for the mad, and for those fallen from character and conduct, those that spoil makha or devastate villages.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa V. 26. 7; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 28. 83; IV. 2. 149-171; Matsya-purāṇa 141. 69; Vāyu-purāṇa 56. 78; 101. 148, 169; Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 6. 3 and 24.
1b) A river in hell. For transgressing law and convention one gets drowned in this river of refuse and urine, etc.*
- * Bhāgavata-purāṇa II. 2. 7; V. 26. 22; VII. 9. 43.
1c) A R. from the Vindhyas; fit for Śrāddha offerings;1 a deva nadī; gift of a cow here secures release for twenty-one generations.2
- 1) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 16. 33; III. 13. 103; Matsya-purāṇa 114. 27; Vāyu-purāṇa 45. 102; 77. 95.
- 2) Vāyu-purāṇa 105. 44; 108. 80; 109. 17; 112. 26.
Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) refers to the name of a River or Tīrtha (pilgrim’s destination) mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. III.81.70, III.83.6, III.114.4, III.114.13, VI.10.33). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Vaitaraṇī) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.
The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.
Shaktism (Shakta philosophy)
Source: Wisdom Library: Śrīmad Devī BhāgavatamVaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) refers to one of the thirty hells (naraka) mentioned in the Devī-bhāgavata-purāṇa 8.21 (on the narrative of hells). The hells are destinations where dead beings brought by messengers of Yama (the God of the Pitṛs), and get punished by him according to their karmas and faults.
The Devī-bhāgavata-purāṇa or Śrīmad-devī-bhāgavatam (mentioning Vaitaraṇī), is categorised as a Mahāpurāṇa, a type of Sanskrit literature containing cultural information on ancient India, religious/spiritual prescriptions and a range of topics concerning the various arts and sciences. The whole text is composed of 18,000 metrical verses, possibly originating from before the 6th century.
Shakta (शाक्त, śākta) or Shaktism (śāktism) represents a tradition of Hinduism where the Goddess (Devi) is revered and worshipped. Shakta literature includes a range of scriptures, including various Agamas and Tantras, although its roots may be traced back to the Vedas.
In Buddhism
Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra1) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) or Khārodakā refers to the “salt river” and represents one of the four utsadas of the Avīci hell according to the “world of transmigration” section in the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXVII).—Accordingly, “the damned enter the salt river [Khārodakā-nadī or Vaitaraṇī], which they enter and are swept downstream. When they emerge, they tread on a ground of burning iron. Walking on iron spines (ayaḥkhaṇṭaka) and sitting on iron spikes (ayaḥstambha) that enter them from behind. The guardians open their mouths with pliers and pour in molten copper; they make them swallow flaming balls of iron; these balls enter and burn their mouth (mukha), penetrate into and burn the throat (kaṇṭha); they penetrate into and burn the belly; the five viscera (read tsang, 130 and 18) having been burned, they fall to the ground”.
2) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) refers to the “forest of iron spines” and is one of the “eight hells of fire and flame” forming part of the sixteen utsadas (secondary hells) sitauted outside of the eight great hells, according to the “world of transmigration” section in the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter XXVII).—Accordingly, “in their previous lives, these unfortunates had wounded and killed water animals, fish or turtles; they had pushed people to fall into the water; they had thrown them into boiling water or into ice-water. They suffer this punishment for all these evil acts”.
Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Source: academia.edu: The Structure and Meanings of the Heruka MaṇḍalaVaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) is the name of a Ḍākinī who, together with the Vīra (hero) named Vaitaraṇa forms one of the 36 pairs situated in the Cittacakra, according to the 10th century Ḍākārṇava chapter 15. Accordingly, the cittacakra refers to one of the three divisions of the nirmāṇa-puṭa (‘emanation layer’), situated in the Herukamaṇḍala. The 36 pairs of Ḍākinīs [viz., Vaitaraṇī] and Vīras are black in color; they each have one face and four arms; they hold a skull bowl, a skull staff, a small drum, and a knife.
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
In Jainism
General definition (in Jainism)
Source: academia.edu: Tessitori Collection IVaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) refers to one of the fifteen Paramādhārmīs causing suffering in the hells (naraka), according to Rājasoma’s “Naraka ko coḍhālyo”, which is included in the collection of manuscripts at the ‘Vincenzo Joppi’ library, collected by Luigi Pio Tessitori during his visit to Rajasthan between 1914 and 1919.—No name of any source is given in the text but the three stages followed in the exposition correspond closely to those found in a handbook such as Nemicandrasūri’s Pravacanasāroddhāra, [e.g.,] 3) sufferings inflicted by the fifteen Paramādhārmīs [e.g., Vaitaraṇī]. [...] These gods (here Sūra or Deva) form a sub-class of the Asurakumāras and perform their tasks in the first, second and third hells.
Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.
India history and geography
Source: archive.org: Nilamata Purana: a cultural and literary study (history)Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) is the name of a river mentioned in the Nīlamatapurāṇa.—Gaṅgodbheda Māhātmya, the Vitastā Māhātmya and the Kedāra Māhātmya mention one Vaitaraṇī but do not help in its identification. The name seems to have been used for one of the streams which join the Vitastā above Vijayeśvara. The only river near Śūrapura is the Rembyāra and the Purohitas of Vijayeśvara actually give the name Vaitaraṇī to the Rembyāra in its course near and below Śupiyan.
The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.
Languages of India and abroad
Marathi-English dictionary
Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionaryvaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).—f S The river of the inframundane regions. Hence applied to the cow which is presented to the Brahman performing the obsequies of a defunct that his passage over the river may be secured.
Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.
Sanskrit dictionary
Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionaryVaitaraṇi (वैतरणि) or Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).—f.
1) Name of the river of hell; पश्यञ्जनं पतितं वैतरण्याम् (paśyañjanaṃ patitaṃ vaitaraṇyām) Bhāgavata 2.2.7.
2) Name of a river in the country of the Kaliṅgas.
Derivable forms: vaitaraṇiḥ (वैतरणिः).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English DictionaryVaitaraṇi (वैतरणि).—f. (-ṇiḥ-ṇī) 1. The river of hell. 2. Name of a river in the Kalingas. 3. The mother of the Rakshasas. E. vi various, taraṇa crossing, aff. iñ or aṇ, and ṅīṣ aff.; or vi prohibitive, taraṇī crossing; or vitaraṇa giving, (liberality in life securing a passage;) or vi priv., taraṇī a boat, passed without a boat; the aff. is same.
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English DictionaryVaitaraṇi (वैतरणि).—vaitaraṇī, i. e. vitaraṇa + ī, f. 1. The river of hell, Mahābhārata 18, 84 (ṇī). 2. A proper name.
Vaitaraṇi can also be spelled as Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी).
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary1) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी):—[from vaitaraṇa] a f. See below.
2) Vaitaraṇi (वैतरणि):—[from vaitaraṇa] f. = next, [Uṇādi-sūtra ii, 103 [Scholiast or Commentator]]
3) Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी):—[from vaitaraṇa] b f. Name of the Hindū Styx id est. the river that flows between earth and the lower regions or abode of departed spirits presided over by Yama (it is described as rushing with great impetuosity, hot, fetid, and filled with blood, hair and bones See, [Religious Thought and Life in India 290, 570]), [Mahābhārata; Purāṇa] etc.
4) [v.s. ...] a cow (given to Brāhmans) that transports a dead man over that river, [Hemādri’s Caturvarga-cintāmaṇi]
5) [v.s. ...] Name of a sacred river in Kaliṅga or Orissa (usually called Baitaraṇī), [Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa; Rāmāyaṇa; Purāṇa]
6) [v.s. ...] of a division of the lower regions, [Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English Dictionary]
7) [v.s. ...] of the mother of the Rākṣasas, [cf. Lexicographers, esp. such as amarasiṃha, halāyudha, hemacandra, etc.]
Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English DictionaryVaitaraṇi (वैतरणि):—[(ṇiḥ-ṇī)] 2. 3. f. The river of hell; mother of the Rākshasas.
Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)Vaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Vearaṇī.
[Sanskrit to German]
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Source: DDSA: A practical Hindi-English dictionaryVaitaraṇī (वैतरणी) [Also spelled vaitarni]:—(nf) styx, a mythological river in the hell.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpusVaitaraṇi (ವೈತರಣಿ):—
1) [noun] name of a river in Orissa state, in Eastern India.
2) [noun] a mythological river believed to be flowing between the earth and the hell, which the departed souls have to cross.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Tamil dictionary
Source: DDSA: University of Madras: Tamil LexiconVaitaraṇi (வைதரணி) noun < Vaitaraṇī. The Hindu Styx, the river that has to be crossed to reach Yama's region; எமலோகத்துக்குச் செல்லுமுன் கடக்கவேண்டிய ஆறு. [emalogathukkus sellumun kadakkavendiya aru.] (காசிகண்டம் காலமறி. [kasigandam kalamari.] 13.)
Tamil is an ancient language of India from the Dravidian family spoken by roughly 250 million people mainly in southern India and Sri Lanka.
Nepali dictionary
Source: unoes: Nepali-English DictionaryVaitaraṇī (वैतरणी):—n. 1. name of river of hell; 2. name of a river in the country of the Kalingas, India; 3. an offering of a cow to the priest to ensure the smooth crossing of a dying one across the river in the hell;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Starts with: Vaitaranidana, Vaitaranidanamahatmya, Vaitaranidanapratroga, Vaitaranimahatmya, Vaitaraninatiyon, Vaitaranividhi, Vaitaranivratodyapanavidhi.
Full-text (+16): Vaitaraninatiyon, Vaitaranimahatmya, Vaitaranividhi, Vaitaranidana, Ushnanadi, Vaitarana, Narakastha, Vatarani, Pretanadi, Vaitaranivratodyapanavidhi, Vearani, Vaitarni, Virajakshetramahatmya, Baitarani, Vajratunda, Devakulya, Parashuvana, Siddheswar, Kharodakanadi, Kharodaka.
Relevant text
Search found 64 books and stories containing Vaitarani, Vaitaraṇī, Vaitaraṇi, Vaitharani, Vaidarani, Vaidharani; (plurals include: Vaitaranis, Vaitaraṇīs, Vaitaraṇis, Vaitharanis, Vaidaranis, Vaidharanis). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts, Madras (by M. Seshagiri Sastri)
Garga Samhita (English) (by Danavir Goswami)
Verse 6.1.29 < [Chapter 1 - Jarāsandha’s Defeat]
Skanda Purana (by G. V. Tagare)
Chapter 159 - The Greatness of Anarakeśvara (anaraka-īśvara-tīrtha) < [Section 3 - Revā-khaṇḍa]
Chapter 226 - Tortures in Twenty-one Hells < [Section 1 - Tīrtha-māhātmya]
Chapter 29 - The Great Efficacy of Anaraka Tīrtha < [Section 1 - Avantīkṣetra-māhātmya]
Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra (by Helen M. Johnson)
Part 7: The two physicians < [Chapter X - The recovery of draupadī]
Part 11: Sermon on the four gatis: hell-inhabitants < [Chapter IV - Padmaprabhacaritra]
Part 5: Further exploits of Rāvaṇa < [Chapter II - Rāvaṇa’s expedition of Conquest]
Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra (by Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön)
The sixteen utsadas annexed to the eight great hells < [The world of transmigration]
Various utsada annexed to the Avīci < [The world of transmigration]
The eight hot hells < [The world of transmigration]
Chaitanya Bhagavata (by Bhumipati Dāsa)
Verse 3.2.282 < [Chapter 2 - Description of the Lord’s Travel Through Bhuvaneśvara and Other Placesto Jagannātha Purī]
Verse 3.6.118 < [Chapter 6 - The Glories of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu]
Introduction to chapter 2 < [Chapter 2 - Description of the Lord’s Travel Through Bhuvaneśvara and Other Placesto Jagannātha Purī]
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