Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52
राजोवाच । ईदृग्जातिस्मृतिर्यस्यां प्रेतयोनौ च खे गतिः । धर्माधर्मपरिज्ञानं तच्च कस्मात्प्रनिंदसि
rājovāca | īdṛgjātismṛtiryasyāṃ pretayonau ca khe gatiḥ | dharmādharmaparijñānaṃ tacca kasmātpraniṃdasi
Raja berkata: “Dalam keadaan preta ini ada ingatan kelahiran lampau, pergerakan di angkasa, serta pengetahuan membezakan dharma dan adharma—mengapa engkau mencelanya?”
Rājā (King)
Scene: A king in dialogue posture—hand raised in inquiry—questions a preta-being about the apparent advantages of preta-state: past-life memory, aerial movement, and moral discernment.
FAQs
Extraordinary powers or knowledge do not automatically equal spiritual well-being; the king probes whether such abilities make the condition desirable.
No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as philosophical dialogue within the broader tīrtha-glorifying narrative.
None; the verse is interrogative, setting up the explanation of merits and defects of the preta-state.