Shloka 33
Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas
प्रेतराज उवाच / स्वैः स्वैस्तु कर्मभिः प्राप्तं प्रेतत्वं हि द्विजोत्तम / परद्रोहरताः सर्वे पापमृत्युवशं गताः
pretarāja uvāca / svaiḥ svaistu karmabhiḥ prāptaṃ pretatvaṃ hi dvijottama / paradroharatāḥ sarve pāpamṛtyuvaśaṃ gatāḥ
The King of the Pretas said: “O best of the twice-born, the state of being a preta is truly attained by each through one’s own deeds. All who are intent on harming others fall under the dominion of sinful death.”
Pretaraja (King of the Pretas)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: स्वकर्म-प्राप्त प्रेतत्व; परद्रोह leads to पापमृत्यु-वशता
Vedantic Theme: कर्मफल-नियम (moral causality) and bondage through adharma; implicit call toward sattvic conduct for higher gati.
Application: Avoid harming others (paradroha); cultivate ahiṃsā, compassion, and accountability for consequences of actions.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: court/assembly
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: general doctrine that preta-state arises from one’s own karma (contextual parallel across preta-adhyāyas); Narratives of Yama’s instruction to a dvija about post-death states (common frame in Pretakalpa)
FAQs
This verse states that pretatva (the preta condition) is attained through one’s own actions; it is a karmic result, not an arbitrary fate.
It links the post-death condition to moral causality: those who cultivate harm toward others are said to fall under the power of sinful death, shaping their afterlife state.
Avoid hostility and harm toward others; ethical conduct is presented as direct protection against painful post-death consequences.