Garuda Purana — Preta Kalpa, Shloka 19
Svapnādhāya (Dream-Chapter): Causes, Forms, Nourishment, and Liberation of Pretas
युधिष्ठिर उवाच / केन कर्मविपाकेन प्रेतत्वमुपजायते / केन वा मुच्यते कस्मात्तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह / यच्छ्रुत्वा न पुनर्मोहमेवं यास्या मि सुव्रत
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca / kena karmavipākena pretatvamupajāyate / kena vā mucyate kasmāttanme brūhi pitāmaha / yacchrutvā na punarmohamevaṃ yāsyā mi suvrata
坚战（Yudhiṣṭhira）说道：“因何业报成熟而生为饿鬼（preta）之身？又以何法得以解脱——其因何在、其道如何？请告知我，祖父（Pitāmaha）啊。闻此之后，誓行坚固者啊，我将不再陷入如此迷妄。”
Yudhishthira
Afterlife Stage: Pretayoni
Concept: Karma-vipāka as the causal basis for pretatva; liberation requires knowing the cause and the remedy (upāya).
Vedantic Theme: Avidyā (moha) is dispelled by right inquiry; understanding causality (karma) supports detachment and right practice.
Application: Examine actions and their consequences; seek instruction on remedial rites/devotion; cultivate clarity to avoid repeating harmful patterns.
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Related Themes: Garuda Purana Pretakalpa: questions on preta-state, causes, and release recur across the dialogue sections
FAQs
This verse frames the core inquiry: preta-hood is linked to karmic fruition, and knowing its causes and release is presented as essential for removing delusion about death and the afterlife.
It introduces the doctrinal link between karma-vipāka (ripened deeds) and becoming a preta, and asks for the precise means of release—setting up the Garuda Purana’s later explanations of post-death states and remedial rites.
Live with dharma and awareness of karmic consequences, and approach death-related rites and ethical duties seriously—because the text treats after-death conditions as effects of one’s actions and omissions.