Garudapurana 2.22

Garuḍa Purāṇa, Chapter 22
Garuḍa said:
How do ghosts arise? By what means do they obtain their path?
What is their form, and what is their food, O Lord?

How do those ghosts become well pleased, and where do they dwell, O Lord of gods?
Being pleased, O Lord, kindly explain this question to me.

The Holy Lord said:
Those engaged in sinful acts, subject to the power of past deeds,
are born as ghosts upon death; hear of them, and I shall tell.

Stepwells, wells, and ponds, a grove, a shrine to the gods,
a water-station, a dwelling, noble trees, and also dining halls,

and ancestral dharma—the sinner who sells these,
upon dying, attains ghosthood until the dissolution of all beings.

Pasture land, the boundary of a village, a pond, a grove, or a cavern—
those who plow these out of greed indeed become ghosts.

Death through an outcaste, water, a snake, a brāhmaṇa, lightning fire,
fangs, and wild beasts happens to doers of sinful deeds.

Those who die of hanging, those killed by poison or weapons,
those who commit suicide, and those killed by cholera and the like,

those who die of severe diseases, of diseases of sin, or by robbers,
those who die without funeral rites, abandoned by prescribed practices,

those deprived of the release of a bull and the rest, those lacking monthly rice-balls,
and one for whom a śūdra brings fire, grass, wood, or clarified butter,

those who die from falling off mountains or the collapse of a wall,
those afflicted by the defects of a menstruating woman, and those who did not die upon the ground,

those who die in mid-air, deprived of remembering Viṣṇu,
and those touched by birth-impurities or contact with dogs, exist as ghosts on this earth.

Those who fall under the power of a bad death through these and other causes,
all of them, abiding in the ghost-womb, wander in a desert.

He who abandons his mother, sister, wife, daughter-in-law, or daughter
though seeing no fault in her, is surely born as a ghost.

A betrayer of a brother, a killer of a brāhmaṇa, a cow-killer, a liquor-drinker, a violator of the teacher's bed,
and a stealer of gold and silk, O Tārkṣya, attains ghosthood.

A misappropriator of a trust, a betrayer of a friend, one devoted to another's wife,
a breaker of trust, and a cruel man—he is surely born as a ghost.

One who abandons the ways of his family and is devoted to the dharma of another,
and one devoid of learning and good conduct—he is surely born as a ghost.

In this very connection they cite this ancient history,
the conversation of Yudhiṣṭhira with Bhīṣma, O you of noble vows;
that I shall tell, hearing which one attains happiness.

Yudhiṣṭhira said:
By what ripening of deeds does ghosthood arise,
or by what is one freed, and from what? Tell me that, O Grandfather,
hearing which, O you of noble vows, I shall not fall into delusion again.

Bhīṣma said:
[I shall tell] by which deed one is born a ghost, by which he is freed,
and how he reaches the terrible hell hard to cross even for gods.

Through constantly hearing this, through hearing and reciting holy things,
men who have fallen into the womb of ghosts are fully liberated.

For it is heard, O dear one, that in ancient times a brāhmaṇa of praised vows,
known by the name Santaptaka, retreated to the forest for austerity.

Engaged in sacred study, with burnt offerings, devoted to sacrifice, endowed with compassion,
performing all sacrifices, he spent his time with proper method,

endowed with celibate studenthood, intent on austerity and gentleness,
possessed of fear of the next world, and stainless through truth and purity,

dedicated to his teacher's word, intent on honoring guests,
ever striving in the discipline of the Self, free from all pairs of opposites,

ever intent on the practice of yoga out of a desire to overcome worldly existence,
of such conduct, observing virtuous conduct, longing for liberation, having conquered the senses.

Many years passed for him in that desolate forest;
then the thought arose in him to go on a pilgrimage.

‘Only with the holy waters of pilgrimage shall I emaciate this body.’
Having quickly bathed in a sacred water at sunrise, that ascetic,
having performed his prayers and salutations, set out upon the road.

One day, having strayed from the path, that brāhmaṇa of great austerity
saw five very terrifying ghosts while traveling on the road.

In a desolate, narrow place in the wilderness, devoid of trees,
having seen these five of deformed appearance and terrible sight,
with his heart slightly terrified, he stood with his eyes wide open.

Then, having summoned his courage and cast fear far away,
speaking sweetly, he asked: 'Who are you of deformed faces?'

And what inauspicious deed was done by which you attained this deformity? / Or how is your karma united [here], and where are you bound, with certainty?

The king of pretas said: / 'Indeed, by our own respective actions has the state of a preta been attained, O best of the twice-born! / Delighting in malice against others, we have all fallen under the power of an evil death.

Constantly afflicted by hunger and thirst, we have arrived at the condition of pretas, / with speech lost, fortune lost, consciousness lost, and destitute of mind.

We know neither the cardinal directions nor the intermediate quarters, O dear one, intensely distressed. / Where indeed can we go, bewildered piśācas born of karma?

We have neither mother nor father; by our own deeds the state of a preta, / filled with suddenly arisen sorrow and agitation, has been attained by us.

And by your sight, O brāhmaṇa, we are gladdened and refreshed. / Wait for a moment; I shall narrate our whole account from the beginning.

I am named Paryuṣita; so too is this one Sūcīmukha; / Śīghraga, and Rodhaka, and the fifth is known as Lekhaka.

Thus named, all of us have indeed attained the state of pretas.' / The brāhmaṇa said: / 'For pretas born of karma, how indeed does the origin of names arise? / Explain your names, indicating whatever cause [is behind them].'

The king of pretas said: / 'Delicious [food] was always eaten by me, but stale food was given away, O twice-born.

[And when] begged by a hungry brāhmaṇa, I would walk away swiftly. / Referring to this cause, my name is Paryuṣita.

He would walk away swiftly when begged by a hungry brāhmaṇa; / referring to this cause, O best of the twice-born, this one is Śīghraga.

Many brāhmaṇas who longed for food were denounced by him; / referring to this cause, he is known as Sūcimukha.

Alone, he would always eat sweets to the exclusion of his dependents, / in the absence of brāhmaṇas; therefore he is called Rodhaka.

Formerly, taking a vow of silence when begged, this one would scratch the ground; / by that ripening of karma, he is called by the name Lekhaka.

The state of pretas and our names were attained through the nature of our deeds, O twice-born: / this Lekhaka has the face of a ram; Rodhaka has a face like a mountain;

Śīghraga has the face of a beast, and Sūcaka has a needle-like face. / We are utterly wretched, O master; behold this reversal of our form!

Having assumed an illusory form, we wander upon the surface of the earth, / all of deformed shape, with pendulous lips and deformed faces.

Possessing huge bodies, terrifying, we have become thus solely through our own actions. / All this cause for the state of a preta has been told to you by me.

Even we have become endowed with knowledge from the sight of you. / Whatever you have faith to hear, ask about that; I shall tell you.'

The brāhmaṇa said: / 'Whatever living beings live in the world are all rooted in food. / I desire to hear truthfully about your food as well.'

The pretas said: / 'If you have faith to hear of our food, O best of the twice-born, / then, O highly fortunate one, listen with complete composure!'

The brāhmaṇa said: / 'Let the great pretas speak of their food, each one separately.' / Addressed thus by the brāhmaṇa, the pretas spoke to him each separately:

The pretas said: / 'Hear of our food, reviled by all beings, / hearing which, O brāhmaṇa, you will revile again and again as utterly vile!

Phlegm, urine, and faeces, together with the impurities of bodies, / along with leftover food and other such things, become the sustenance of pretas.

And houses that are impure, with household items scattered about, / dirty and [defiled by] childbirth—there indeed do the pretas eat.

Where there is no truth in a house, no cleanliness, nor self-restraint, / and association with outcasts and robbers—there indeed do the pretas eat.

Those [houses] that are devoid of bali offerings and mantras, devoid of fire oblations, / and devoid of Vedic study and religious observances—there indeed do the pretas eat.

Where there is neither shame nor propriety, when the householder is dominated by his wife, / and where elders are not respected—there indeed do the pretas eat.

Where there is greed, anger, sleep, grief, fear, arrogance, / indolence, and perpetual strife—there indeed do the pretas eat.

And a woman who, having no husband, enjoys the seed of another man: / the semen mingled with urine—that indeed do the pretas eat.

Shame arises in me, O dear one, as I describe our own food: / the menstrual blood of a woman residing in the womb—that indeed do the pretas eat.

Despondent with the state of a preta, I ask you, O man of firm observances: / tell me, O ascetic, how one will not become a preta! / Constant death is better for a creature, [provided] the state of a preta should never befall him!'

The brāhmaṇa said: / 'A man constantly devoted to fasting, intent on kṛcchra and cāndrāyaṇa penances, / and purified by various religious observances, does not become a preta.

One who performs the religious observance on the eleventh day accompanied by an all-night vigil, / purified by other virtuous deeds, does not become a preta, does not become a preta.

The man who, having sacrificed with horse-sacrifices and the like, gives gifts, / and who constructs groves, parks, ponds, and the like, as well as a water-station;

who gives a maiden of the brāhmaṇas in marriage according to his ability, / who gives knowledge, and gives protection from fear—that man does not become a preta.

However, one who dies with food from a śūdra eaten and remaining in his belly, / and one who dies by an unnatural death—that man becomes a preta.

One who officiates for those unfit to be sacrificed for, and one who abandons those fit to be sacrificed for, / and one who constantly delights in artisans—that man becomes a preta.

Having made contact with wine-drinkers, enjoying the women of wine-drinkers, / or eating meat out of ignorance—that man becomes a preta.

[Stealing] property of the gods, property of a brāhmaṇa, and likewise property of a teacher, / or one who gives a daughter for a bride-price—that man becomes a preta.

One who abandons his mother, sister, wife, daughter-in-law, or daughter, / without any fault being seen—he [becomes a preta].

One who steals a deposit, injures a friend, is ever intent on another's wife, / betrays trust, and is deceitful—he [becomes a preta].

One who injures a brother, a slayer of a brāhmaṇa, a cow-killer, a drinker of liquor, one who violates the bed of a guru, / one who abandons the family path and is ever devoted to speaking untruth, / and a stealer of gold and land—he [becomes a preta].'

Bhīṣma said: / While the brāhmaṇa was speaking thus, a sound of kettledrums resounded in the sky, / and a shower of flowers released by the gods fell upon the twice-born.

Five celestial chariots of the gods arrived for the pretas; / taking leave of that sage, they went to heaven in those divine celestial chariots.

Through conversation with the brāhmaṇa and through the recitation of holy knowledge,
the ghosts, freed from sin, could attain the supreme state.

Sūta said:
Having heard this narrative, trembling like an aśvattha leaf,
Garuḍa asked again for the benefit of human beings.

Thus ends the twenty-second chapter, named 'The Explanation of the Origin of Ghosthood, Freedom from It, and the Story of the Five Ghosts', in the conversation between Bhīṣma and Yudhiṣṭhira, in the Pretakalpa of the ritual section, in the second part of the Uttarakhaṇḍa in the glorious Garuḍa Purāṇa.