Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 35
गौतम उवाच । न विना भोजनेनैव वर्तन्ते प्राणिनो भुवि । किमाहारा भवन्तो वै वदध्वं मम कौतुकात्
gautama uvāca | na vinā bhojanenaiva vartante prāṇino bhuvi | kimāhārā bhavanto vai vadadhvaṃ mama kautukāt
Gautama sprach: „Ohne Nahrung können die Wesen auf Erden nicht bestehen. Wovon also lebt ihr? Sagt es mir, aus meiner Neugier.“
Gautama Ṛṣi
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Pretas (and the narrative audience)
Scene: Gautama, serene and authoritative, questions unseen or suffering beings about their food; the scene is quiet, charged with metaphysical curiosity.
FAQs
The sage’s inquiry highlights that every realm has its laws of sustenance, and that actions determine one’s mode of living—even after death.
Prabhāsakṣetra, where profound dharmic questions are posed and answered within a tīrtha-māhātmya setting.
None directly; the verse introduces a teaching about preta existence and its conditions.