Vaitarni nadi is mentioned in Garuda Purana. Vaitrani River is in Yamaloka and this 100 yojana wide river does not contain water but pus and blood. The banks of the river are filled with bones. Crocodile, worms with needle-sharp fangs, fish with sharp teeth and vultures inhabit the river and its banks. The blood and pus in the river are in constant turbulence. They jump up trying to grab the dead souls. It is believed that the soul of the dead person is brought here by the lieutenants of Yama, the Hindu god of death. The river can be safely crossed only through a boat. The boatman is a ghost and it asks the dead person as to what punya or virtue he/she had performed on earth to cross the river. Only those people who have performed Go Danam – donation of a cow will be able to cross the river on the boat. Other souls either fall into the river or are carried by hooking on to a Trishul by the soldiers of Yama. The name of the river is Vaitarni because only those people w