Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 7
वयं प्रेता महाराज निवसामोऽत्र कानने । स्वकर्मजनिताद्दोषाद्दुःखेन महता वृताः
vayaṃ pretā mahārāja nivasāmo'tra kānane | svakarmajanitāddoṣādduḥkhena mahatā vṛtāḥ
«Nous sommes des prétas, ô grand roi, demeurant dans cette forêt. Par la faute née de nos propres actes, nous sommes enveloppés d’une immense souffrance.»
Eldest preta (māṃsādaḥ)
Listener: A king (महाराज/पार्थिव/भूमिप)
Scene: A king in regal attire meets three emaciated, shadowy pretas in a dense forest; the pretas speak of karmic fault and immense suffering; atmosphere is twilight, with dry leaves and eerie stillness.
FAQs
Suffering is portrayed as the fruit of one’s own karma, reinforcing moral accountability and the need for dharmic purification.
Not specified yet; the verse establishes karmic suffering that Māhātmyas often resolve through tīrtha, dāna, and śrāddha-related remedies in subsequent passages.
None in this verse; it states the cause (svakarma-doṣa) and condition (great suffering) that later verses typically address with expiatory rites.