Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 42
मृतानां बांधवा ये तु मुंचंत्यश्रूणि भूतले । पिबंत्यश्रूणि तान्यद्धा मृताः प्रेताः परत्र वै
mṛtānāṃ bāṃdhavā ye tu muṃcaṃtyaśrūṇi bhūtale | pibaṃtyaśrūṇi tānyaddhā mṛtāḥ pretāḥ paratra vai
മരിച്ചവരുടെ ബന്ധുക്കൾ ഭൂമിയിൽ കണ്ണീർ വീഴ്ത്തുമ്പോൾ, ആ കണ്ണീർ തന്നെയാണ് പരലോകത്തിൽ മരിച്ച പ്രേതങ്ങൾ സത്യമായി കുടിക്കുന്നത്।
An instructing sage/teacher figure in the Setukhaṇḍa dialogue (contextual; exact speaker not in snippet)
Scene: Relatives weep beside a body/pyre; tears fall to earth while subtle, unseen pretas hover, receiving the drops—an admonitory, compassionate tableau.
FAQs
Excessive lamentation can be spiritually unhelpful; one should support the departed through dharmic rites rather than uncontrolled grief.
Not specified in this verse; the Setukhaṇḍa context later directs rites to Rāmasetu/Rāmanātha.
Implicitly, it discourages mere weeping and points toward performing prescribed preta-kārya/śrāddha instead.
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