Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 46
प्रेता ऊचुः । मृषाऽपहारिणो ये च ये चोच्छिष्टा व्रजन्ति च । गोब्राह्मणहताश्चैव प्रेतत्वं ते व्रजन्ति हि
pretā ūcuḥ | mṛṣā'pahāriṇo ye ca ye cocchiṣṭā vrajanti ca | gobrāhmaṇahatāścaiva pretatvaṃ te vrajanti hi
പ്രേതങ്ങൾ പറഞ്ഞു—വഞ്ചനയോടെ മോഷണം ചെയ്യുന്നവർ, ഉച്ഛിഷ്ടം മൂലം അശുദ്ധാവസ്ഥയിൽ സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്നവർ, ഗോഹത്യയും ബ്രാഹ്മണഹത്യയും ചെയ്യുന്നവർ—അവർ തീർച്ചയായും പ്രേതത്വം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।
Pretāḥ
Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Gautama
Scene: Pretas solemnly enumerate the karmic causes of their condition—deceitful stealing, impurity tied to leftovers, and cow/brāhmaṇa killing—turning the dialogue into a moral warning tableau.
FAQs
Deceit, impurity, and grave violence rupture dharma and lead to severe post-mortem consequences described as pretahood.
Prabhāsa Kṣetra; the māhātmya uses moral instruction to frame the sanctity of the kṣetra and proper conduct.
Maintain truthfulness and cleanliness (avoid ucchiṣṭa-impurity), and uphold ahiṃsā—especially the grave prohibitions against harming cow and brāhmaṇa.