Shloka 20
Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas
भीष्म उवाच / येनैव जायते प्रेतो येनैव स विमुच्यते / प्राप्नोति नरकं घोरं दुस्तरं दैवतैरपि
bhīṣma uvāca / yenaiva jāyate preto yenaiva sa vimucyate / prāpnoti narakaṃ ghoraṃ dustaraṃ daivatairapi
Bhīṣma said: By that very cause a being becomes a preta, and by that very cause he is also released. By it he attains a dreadful hell—one that is difficult to cross even for the gods.
Bhishma
Afterlife Stage: Naraka
Concept: The operative cause (kāraṇa)—understood as one’s karma/adharma and its momentum—produces pretatva and naraka; reversal through the same domain (right action/rectification) enables release.
Vedantic Theme: Bandha and mokṣa hinge on the transformation of causality: ignorance-driven action binds; knowledge-aligned, dharmic/bhakti action purifies and frees.
Application: Identify binding patterns (adharma, negligence of rites, harmful conduct) and apply their antidotes (dharma, expiation, devotion, right rites) before consequences mature.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: descriptions of narakas and the principle of karma-phala as the determinant of gati
FAQs
This verse highlights that the same underlying cause (one’s karma and its consequences) can bind a departed soul into the preta condition and can also become the basis for release—showing the pivotal role of actions and their rectification.
It frames the post-death trajectory as karma-driven: a soul may enter the preta condition and even reach terrifying narakas, yet release is also possible through the very causal chain—implying transformation through atonement, right rites, and dharmic correction.
Live with ethical restraint and accountability: avoid actions that lead to suffering, and if harm is done, pursue correction through dharma—repentance, restitution, and appropriate ancestral/death rites where culturally practiced.