Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 62
प्रेता ऊचुः । प्रभूतकालमस्माकं प्रेतत्वे तिष्ठतां विभो । न त्वभ्येति पुमान्कश्चिदस्माकं यो गतिर्भवेत्
pretā ūcuḥ | prabhūtakālamasmākaṃ pretatve tiṣṭhatāṃ vibho | na tvabhyeti pumānkaścidasmākaṃ yo gatirbhavet
Les pretas dirent : «Ô Seigneur, voilà très longtemps que nous demeurons dans l’état de preta. Nul homme ne s’approche de nous qui puisse devenir notre délivrance.»
Pretas (collective)
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Vibhu/Īśvara (addressed as lord; within the narrative frame)
Scene: A group of sorrowful pretas, emaciated and shadow-like, plead before a compassionate brāhmaṇa/Īśvara figure at the edge of a sacred coastal kṣetra; the sea-wind and distant temple silhouette suggest Prabhāsa.
FAQs
Without timely dharmic support (rites and guidance), beings may remain bound in painful intermediate states for long periods.
The wider episode belongs to Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, where sacred place and rite together enable release.
Implicitly, the need for a human agent to provide rites; the explicit request for śrāddha follows.