Shloka 35
Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas
न जानीमो दिशं तात विदिशं चातिदुः खिताः / क्व नु गच्छामहे मूढाः पिशाचाः कर्मजा वयम्
na jānīmo diśaṃ tāta vidiśaṃ cātiduḥ khitāḥ / kva nu gacchāmahe mūḍhāḥ piśācāḥ karmajā vayam
“O dear one, we do not know any direction—nor even the byways—being overwhelmed with sorrow. Where indeed shall we go? We are deluded; we are piśācas, born of our own karma.”
Afflicted piśācas/karma-born spirits (as quoted within the Vishnu–Garuda dialogue narrative)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: Karma-born identity: ‘we are piśācas, born of our deeds’; delusion and disorientation are fruits of papa.
Vedantic Theme: Avidyā and karma construct experiential worlds; identification with a degraded yoni is a product of saṃskāra and vāsanā.
Application: Cultivate right action and right view; seek guidance (śāstra, guru, sādhus) to avoid moral and cognitive disorientation; support rites that provide ‘direction’ to the departed.
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Type: crossroads/trackless liminal space
Related Themes: Garuda Purana: motifs of preta wandering, not finding direction, and crying out for help (recurrent in Pretakalpa); Garuda Purana śrāddha sections: rites as ‘path-making’ for the departed (thematic)
FAQs
This verse highlights that certain post-death states arise from one’s own actions: the spirit’s confusion and misery are presented as karmic consequences, not random fate.
It depicts a disoriented, sorrow-stricken condition where the being cannot discern direction—symbolizing a restless, unresolved post-death wandering that occurs when karma and impurity dominate.
Live with ethical restraint and clarity (dharma) and avoid harmful actions that cloud the mind; the verse warns that delusion and suffering can follow one’s deeds beyond death.