Shloka 69
Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas
अयाज्ययाजकश्चैव याज्यानां च विवर्जकः / कारुभिश्च रतो नित्यं स प्रेतो जायते नरः
ayājyayājakaścaiva yājyānāṃ ca vivarjakaḥ / kārubhiśca rato nityaṃ sa preto jāyate naraḥ
Wer Opferhandlungen für Unwürdige vollzieht, den Würdigen den Dienst verweigert und sich stets an unziemliche, erniedrigende Tätigkeiten bindet, wird nach dem Tod als preta geboren, als ruheloser Geist.
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: Misapplication of priestly/ritual duty—serving the unfit, rejecting the fit, and clinging to improper occupations—produces preta-bhava.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma as purifier of antaḥkaraṇa; adharma as bondage producing lower post-death states.
Application: Perform one’s professional/ritual responsibilities with discernment and integrity; avoid enabling unethical patrons; align livelihood with dharma.
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: enumerations of adharma leading to preta-yoni (same chapter sequence); Garuda Purana: sections on brāhmaṇa-dharma and yājaka-niyama (elsewhere in Dharma-kāṇḍa portions)
FAQs
This verse stresses that dharma governs not only rituals but also who should be served by them; violating eligibility—by serving the unfit or rejecting the fit—creates grave karma linked here to preta-birth.
It connects unethical ritual conduct and wrongful livelihood with an after-death state: the person becomes a preta, implying a disturbed post-mortem condition rather than a settled ancestral (pitṛ) status.
Maintain integrity in religious/ethical duties, avoid transactional or exploitative spirituality, and choose livelihoods and services aligned with dharma rather than convenience or profit.