Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 73
मरणानंतरं तेषां जंतूनां योनिपूरणम् । तथाहि प्रेता मनुजाः श्रूयंते नान्यजंतवः
maraṇānaṃtaraṃ teṣāṃ jaṃtūnāṃ yonipūraṇam | tathāhi pretā manujāḥ śrūyaṃte nānyajaṃtavaḥ
After death, for those beings there is the taking of a new womb (rebirth); for it is heard that ‘pretas’ are human beings—other creatures are not spoken of in that way.
Lomaharṣaṇa/Sūta (deduced for Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)
Listener: a sage/audience (contextual)
Scene: A liminal scene: a departing human soul in preta-like subtle form moving toward rebirth, with symbolic womb imagery and the cycle of saṃsāra suggested through circular motifs.
FAQs
Human birth carries unique moral accountability; the ‘preta’ condition is especially tied to the human journey between death and rebirth.
No tīrtha is referenced; the verse explains a doctrinal point about pretas and rebirth.
Not explicitly; indirectly it supports śrāddha and rites for the departed by emphasizing the human preta-state.