The Boundary River
Virajā ('the pure one' / 'free from passion') is the sacred river described in the Upaniṣads and Pañcarātra texts as the boundary between the material cosmos (leelā-vibhūti) and the transcendental Vaikuṇṭha (nitya-vibhūti). When a liberated soul (muktātmā) passes through the Virajā, it is said to shed the last remnants of its material conditionings — karmic residue, subtle body, and the mental impressions of embodied existence.
The Crossing
According to the Chāndogya Upaniṣad and Viṣṇu Purāṇam, the liberated soul travels the arcirādi-mārga (the path of light) from this world to Vaikuṇṭha, bathing in the Virajā as it crosses. The river 'purifies' in the sense of completing the transition — not that the soul was impure, but that the final divestment of material association happens at this boundary.
Symbolic Meaning
The Virajā represents the absolute distinction between leelā (the domain of play and bondage) and nitya (the eternal domain of liberation). There is no return from the other side — once a soul crosses the Virajā, it attains Vaikuṇṭha and never returns to saṃsāra.