Shloka 60
Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas
यत्र लोभस्तथा क्रोधो निद्रा शोको भयं मदः / आलस्यं कलहो नित्यं प्रेता भुञ्जन्ति तत्र वै
yatra lobhastathā krodho nidrā śoko bhayaṃ madaḥ / ālasyaṃ kalaho nityaṃ pretā bhuñjanti tatra vai
Where greed and anger prevail—along with drowsiness, grief, fear, and intoxication—where laziness and constant quarrelling are present, there indeed the pretas take it as their ‘food’ and grow in strength.
Lord Vishnu (narrating to Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: Lobha, krodha, mada, ālasya, and constant kalaha create conditions that attract and sustain preta influences.
Vedantic Theme: Guṇa theory implied: tamas/rajas-dominance leads to lower outcomes; mind-state shapes karmic field and subtle associations.
Application: Reduce quarrels and intoxicants; practice self-regulation (kṣamā, santoṣa), healthy routine, and sattvic habits to prevent ‘preta-like’ degradation of home life.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Type: household/community-space
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.22: repeated refrain ‘pretā bhuñjanti tatra vai’ tying moral conditions to preta feeding
FAQs
This verse states that environments dominated by greed, anger, fear, and constant conflict become places where pretas ‘feed,’ implying that moral and mental discipline reduces conditions that invite such harmful after-death influences.
By mentioning pretas and their ‘feeding,’ it indicates an intermediate, distressed post-death condition where certain subtle beings remain tied to heavy emotions and discord, highlighting how one’s tendencies (vāsanās) shape post-mortem experience.
Cultivate a sattvic home and mind—reduce quarrels, intoxication, and laziness; practice self-restraint and calm speech—so one’s life and surroundings do not become dominated by the very vices this verse warns about.