Skanda Purana 5.18

Sūta said: / Then that king too, overcome by hunger and thirst, / having walked to another forest on foot, fell to the surface of the earth.

Then, from the sky, he saw three very terrible ghosts (pretas), / with upright hair, blood-red eyes, black teeth, and emaciated bellies.

Seeing them, the king, extremely terrified with fear, / despairing of his life, spoke these words with difficulty:

“Who are you of deformed appearance, such terrifying forms as have never been seen / by me wandering in this world of mortals before?

I am King Vidūratha, extremely afflicted by hunger and thirst; / eager to catch a deer, I have arrived here in a forest devoid of living creatures.”

Then the eldest of them, Māṃsāda, replied to him, / standing with folded hands and bowed in modesty:

“We are ghosts, O great king, dwelling in this forest, / overwhelmed with great suffering because of the fault born of our own actions.

I am named Māṃsāda; this second one is Vidaivata; / and the third is Kṛtaghna, the evil-doer among the three.”

The king said: / “The name of every embodied being is given by father and mother; / what is the reason that all of you have such self-coined names?”

Hearing that, Māṃsāda said: “O king, these are names based on our actions, / made among ourselves by our own accord for the sake of identification.

Listen attentively, each of us in turn, / to the action by which the state of a ghost arose here for us, O protector of the earth.

We are indeed brahmins by birth, O king, born in the city named Vaidiśa, / in the house of the high-souled brahmin Devarāta.

We were atheists, transgressors of proper conduct, constantly devoted to other men's wives, / there engaged in sinful deeds and devoid of auspicious acts.

Due to the indulgence of the craving of my tongue, meat was constantly eaten by me; / therefore, a name born of my action, known as 'Māṃsāda' (Meat-eater), was fixed for me.

This second one, O great king, who stands before you, / by him food was always eaten without performing the worship of deities.

By that ripening of karma, he attained the womb of a ghost; / this second one, an extreme evil-doer, is renowned as 'Vidaivata' (Godless).

Ungratefulness was constantly practiced by this extremely sinful one; / therefore, by that action he is called 'Kṛtaghna' (Ungrateful), O best of kings.”

The king said: / “In this world of mortals, all creatures live by food; / which [food] is yours here? Tell me in detail.”

Māṃsāda said: / “In a house where a quarrel of women occurs at mealtime, / even if it consists mostly of spells and herbs, ghosts eat there indeed.

Where food is eaten by men without the Vaiśvadeva rite, O king, / and without giving the first portion of the cooked food, ghosts eat there too.

A śrāddha that is performed at night, or a gift [given] outside of auspicious occasions— / all that, O tiger among kings, becomes food for ghosts.

In a mansion where no sweeping is done nor plastering with cow dung, / and where there is no auspiciousness and no hospitality, ghosts eat there indeed.

In a house where the discarding of broken vessels is not done, / and where there is no sound of the Veda, ghosts eat there indeed.

A śrāddha that is devoid of sacrificial gifts, O king, or devoid of rites, / and likewise one seen by a menstruating woman, that falls to us.

At a śrāddha where brahmins with missing limbs or extra limbs, / or those who are husbands of Śūdra women, eat, that falls to us.

When a guest arrives as the time of the śrāddha is at hand / and departs from the house unhonored, that śrāddha gives satisfaction to ghosts.

Or what is the use of speaking much to you? Hear in brief, O king, / our constant food, which you will despise upon hearing:

Food that is contaminated with hair, thread, bones, mucus, and the like, / and touched by outcasts, that falls to us.”

The king said: / “By what ripening of karma does the state of a ghost arise for men? / Tell me all of this, Māṃsāda, as I ask you.”

Māṃsāda said: / “A man who is vile and given to slander, / attached to eating sweet meats—that man is born as a ghost.

And he who eats without performing rites for the gods and libations to ancestors, / and without giving to his servants—that man is born as a ghost.

A man devoted to another's wife, a thief of another's wealth, / and one who delights in slandering others is born as a preta.

A man who gives his daughter to an old man or a base man out of greed for wealth, / or to an ugly or ill-behaved man, is born as a preta.

A man who abandons his lawful wife born of good family, humble, / thriving in happiness, and free from fault, is born as a preta.

A man who takes the property of gods, women, or his guru and does not return it, / especially the property of a brahmin, is born as a preta.

A man pleased by another's distress, ungrateful, a violator of the guru's bed, / and a reviler of gods and brahmins, is born as a preta.

A man who, committing grave sin, causes an obstacle / to wealth being given to brahmins, is born as a preta.

If a brahmin dies with the food of a śūdra in his stomach, / he is born as a preta, O king, even if he knows the six Vedāṅgas.

A man who abandons the duty proper to his family and region and practices another, / whether out of desire or greed, is born as a preta.

All this has been related to you by me, O best of kings: / by what ripening of karma a man is born as a preta.

The king said:
By doing what deed is a man not born as a preta? / Proclaim that to me in detail and particularly, O flesh-eater.

The flesh-eater said:
A man who regards the wives of others like his mother, the property of others like a clod of earth, / and living beings like himself is not born as a preta.

A man who is always dedicated to the gift of food, especially fond of guests, / and devoted to the practice of Vedic recitation is not born as a preta.

A man who is equal toward enemy and friend, to whom a clod, a stone, and gold are equal, / and who is equal in honor and dishonor is not born as a preta.

A man who increases the encouragement of those engaged in the duty of giving / and following the path of dharma is not born as a preta.

A man who constantly protects all creatures—lice, bedbugs, / biting gnats, and others—like sons is not born as a preta.

A man always engaged in the performance of sacrifices, always dedicated to sacred fords, / and intent on hearing sacred teachings is not born as a preta.

A man who constructs oblong tanks, wells, and pools, / especially groves, and water-huts is not born as a preta.

All this, our own secret, has been related to you, O lord of the earth; / we are disgusted with our state as pretas, so you must become our refuge.

Having gone to the holy Gayāśiras, O protector of the earth, / respectfully offer a śrāddha separately for each of the three of us.

So that this dreadful condition of being pretas departs by your grace; / otherwise our liberation will in no way come to pass.

The king said:
Why do you censure this womb of a preta, in which there is such memory of previous births, / movement in the sky, and thorough knowledge of dharma and adharma?

The flesh-eater said:
This womb of a preta, O king, the ninth, is called divine; / it is endowed with three qualities, but with defects on all other sides.

One is complete memory of previous births, which arises in this very state; / another is flying in the sky, and likewise discernment of dharma and adharma.

These three qualities are declared in the womb of a preta, O best of kings; / I shall also tell you the defects: hear them attentively.

If we were to go anywhere else from this forest, O king, / then we would surely be struck by blows of invisible clubs.

Likewise, all religious acts are ordained for human beings, / not for pretas, not for gods, and not for any others without human form.

From afar, O king, we see reservoirs full of water, / afflicted by thirst and exhausted when the sun resides in Taurus.

If we go near them, O best of kings, / then we are struck by blows of invisible clubs.

Likewise, overwhelmed by hunger, from far away we see various cooked dishes / ready in the houses of householders, O king.

Likewise, fruitful trees filled with sweet-voiced birds, / lush and endowed with good shade, we are not allowed to enjoy.

Or what need is there to tell you much? Whatever act is blameworthy / and brings torment approaches us of its own accord.

Without a vulnerability, the maintenance of our life does not occur; / there are no waters, no shade, no vehicle, and no mount for us.

For this reason, we wander constantly in search of a vulnerability / at the onset of night, O king, and neither in the morning nor during the day.

As for your praise of our flying in the sky, O lord of the earth, / that too is useless and not beneficial; hear the reason for that as well.

What is accomplished by flying in the sky, or by decisions on dharma, / or by memory of previous births and the like, since liberation is not attained?

Therefore, because of this defect, O king, although these are spoken of as qualities / of pretas, by relying on them no attainment whatsoever arises.

Greater dejection arises because of these qualities, O lord of men; / by joining the state of pretas, we are unable to perform any auspicious action.

The king said:
If I return to my home from this great forest, / then without a doubt I will perform the Gayā-śrāddha for all of you.

And I will diligently deliver you all from all sins, / even by giving my own body: by truth I swear to myself.

Since the doubt dwelling in my heart has been removed by you today, / having reached [my home], I shall render this service to you.

The flesh-eater said:
Not very far from this place, O great king, is a reservoir of water / surrounded by various trees, supremely delighting the heart.

Therefore, go facing north, where waterbirds are seen / flying all around along the path of the sky.

Sūta said:
Then, having slowly stood up, that tiger among kings / set out toward the northern direction, sorrowful indeed.

As he proceeded thus, distressed by hunger and thirst, / he saw not far away a dark grove of trees, / with herons, swans, cranes, and cormorants wheeling about.

Approaching the water there, the king, / as if summoned by its cool breeze, went on in haste.

Then he beheld a charming hermitage situated on the bank of a pool, / frequented by gentle creatures and surrounded on all sides by ascetics,

encircled everywhere by trees laden with flowers and fruits, / and made resonant with varied, sweet calls by excellent birds.

There, beneath a tree, he saw the best of sages, Jaimini, / attended by a host of ascetics, devoted to the path of Śiva, and serene.

Then, having approached, the king of kings bowed down to the lord of sages, / and likewise to his other disciples, and fell to the ground.

Seeing him, whom they had never seen before, endowed with the marks of a king, / his limbs greyed with dust like a mountain covered with ash,

considering him to be an earthly ruler, their eyes wide with wonder, / they addressed him with sweet words preceded by blessings:

"From where have you arrived in this uninhabited forest, / alone, of delicate limbs, on foot, overcome with exhaustion?

Many marks of a king are seen on you. / Therefore we do not know with certainty; tell us the reason for your coming."

Then the king said with difficulty: "Thirst torments me. / Therefore, tell me where there is water, having drunk which I will narrate [everything]."

Then the water that was nearby was pointed out to the king by them. / He too, having drunk and bathed, became free from thirst.

Then, taking up ripe, very pure fruits of the trees / that had fallen below, he ate with appetite.

Then, having attained supreme satisfaction, he approached Jaimini's presence; / having bowed deeply, he sat down, and likewise [did reverence] to the other sages in order.

Standing with joined palms, he recounted his own story, / when questioned by all the ascetics filled with great astonishment:

"I am King Vidūratha, whose seat is in Māhiṣmatī. / Wishing to hunt deer, I entered the terrible forest along with my soldiers.

Then, as I wandered about, all my soldiers were lost; / and others were hidden by the thickets—I do not know how they fared.

I had a thoroughbred steed under me, endowed with all fine qualities; / he too, through the ripening of past deeds, met his death.

Wandering about, I have arrived here because a remnant of my lifespan remained. / So tell me: what region is this, and how far away is my city?"

Then those ascetics said: "We do not know your city, / nor do we know you or your land, O king, nor what this region is called.

We have no concern with rulers of men, nor with quarters, nor with cities, O king. / We are forest-dwellers, always devoted to the worship of Śiva.

All of us eat only fallen flowers and fruits of the trees, / or leaves, for the sake of maintaining the body.

We do not associate or converse with human beings, O ruler of men; / we do not look at them, but go elsewhere, far away.

We stay at the foot of each single tree for one day or two, / so that no sense of possessiveness arising therefrom may develop.

For your sake, O king of kings, we shall spend this night / at [the foot of] this tree; at dawn we shall depart elsewhere, to another forest.

Seeing you alone, on foot, weaponless, and overcome with exhaustion, / O king, greater compassion arose within us. / 'How will this lone foremost of kings pass the night / in this forest?' Having deliberated thus, we remained right here.

Therefore, gathered together, we will pass this night right here. / Rising in the morning, everyone must then proceed according to their will."

As they were conversing in this manner, the venerable sun of sharp rays, / resembling saffron powder, reached the setting mountain.

Then the king, standing with head bowed, said to those ascetics: / "The twilight hour has now arrived, O best of sages; / therefore, the evening rite ought to be performed by everyone properly."

Then all those sages and that king, as well as the twice-born, / performed the evening ritual as enjoined by the ancients.

Then arrived the night, longed for by lovers, by women, / and with sweet words by those who are cherished, and especially by unchaste wives—

which is viewed simultaneously like a shore of the nectar ocean / and like a creeper of the poison tree by owls and by cakravāka birds;

which owls, rākṣasas, thieves, lovers, and unchaste women / always desire eagerly, just as farmers desire abundant rain.

Thus ends the eighteenth chapter, titled 'The Description of the Performance of Evening Rites and Other Observances Preceded by the Dialogue with the Sages of Vidūratha, Who Reached the Abode of the Seers' Hermitage on the Word of the Carnivore,' in the Māhātmya of the Hāṭakeśvara Sacred Field, in the Nāgarakhaṇḍa, the sixth [section], in the Skandapurāṇa comprising eighty-one thousand verses.