Shloka 33
Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas
प्रेतराज उवाच / स्वैः स्वैस्तु कर्मभिः प्राप्तं प्रेतत्वं हि द्विजोत्तम / परद्रोहरताः सर्वे पापमृत्युवशं गताः
pretarāja uvāca / svaiḥ svaistu karmabhiḥ prāptaṃ pretatvaṃ hi dvijottama / paradroharatāḥ sarve pāpamṛtyuvaśaṃ gatāḥ
Raja para Preta bersabda: “Wahai yang terbaik antara kaum dua-kali-lahir, keadaan sebagai preta sesungguhnya dicapai oleh tiap-tiap insan melalui karmanya sendiri. Semua yang bertekad mencelakakan orang lain jatuh di bawah kekuasaan maut yang berdosa.”
Pretaraja (King of the Pretas)
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: स्वकर्म-प्राप्त प्रेतत्व; परद्रोह leads to पापमृत्यु-वशता
Vedantic Theme: कर्मफल-नियम (moral causality) and bondage through adharma; implicit call toward sattvic conduct for higher gati.
Application: Avoid harming others (paradroha); cultivate ahiṃsā, compassion, and accountability for consequences of actions.
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Type: court/assembly
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: general doctrine that preta-state arises from one’s own karma (contextual parallel across preta-adhyāyas); Narratives of Yama’s instruction to a dvija about post-death states (common frame in Pretakalpa)
FAQs
This verse states that pretatva (the preta condition) is attained through one’s own actions; it is a karmic result, not an arbitrary fate.
It links the post-death condition to moral causality: those who cultivate harm toward others are said to fall under the power of sinful death, shaping their afterlife state.
Avoid hostility and harm toward others; ethical conduct is presented as direct protection against painful post-death consequences.