Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 95
वृथा धनार्जनं कृत्वा व्यवश्चैव तथा वृथा । मृतानां तेन प्रेतत्वं भविष्यति न संशयः
vṛthā dhanārjanaṃ kṛtvā vyavaścaiva tathā vṛthā | mṛtānāṃ tena pretatvaṃ bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ
Ayant amassé des richesses en vain et vécu de même en vain, par cela, pour les défunts, naîtra l’état de preta, l’esprit errant ; il n’y a là aucun doute.
Sāvitrī (deduced from immediate context of the adhyāya narrative)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Scene: A miserly figure hoards coins while a shadowy preta-form rises behind; funeral smoke and a lonely crossroads evoke wandering; a distant Prabhāsa shrine suggests the missed chance of dharmic transformation.
FAQs
A life spent in hollow gain and purposeless conduct leads to suffering after death; dharma-filled living is portrayed as the safeguard.
Prabhāsakṣetra, within whose māhātmya this ethical warning is embedded.
No direct rite is prescribed here; it functions as a moral injunction to live meaningfully and dharmically to avoid preta-state consequences.