He approached them gently and asked, his words sweet and respectful, “Who are you, beings of such terrible form? You seem always to remain in one place, yet where do you go? You are constantly afflicted by hunger and thirst, and much suffering always accompanies you. All of you appear surrounded by poor understanding, lacking in wisdom and discernment. We do not know the sky, the earth, nor even the day. This journey you make toward the sunrise does not appear to be a desirable one.” He continued, “Among you are the swift one, the restrainer, and the fifth, the scribe—how could there be an origin of names for the departed and their deeds? What is the reason for this, that you are all nameless? As for myself, I always eat what is fresh and give what is stale to the twice-born.” At this, they replied, “Because of this, O twice-born, the name is ‘giver of stale food.’ For this reason, the next is called ‘needle-pointed,’ and for the same reason, the swift one is so called. The one who mounts up with an anxious mind is known as the restrainer. Among us, the most sinful is the scribe, and so he is named. The swift one becomes lame, then extremely needle-faced. With large testicles and dried limbs, an evil one is born. If you have faith in hearing, ask whatever else you desire; all living beings on earth subsist on food.” He then said, “I wish to hear, in truth, about your food as well. Listen to ours, O one devoted to compassion for all creatures. That which, upon hearing, you constantly revile again and again, always—know this: in houses abandoned by purity, the departed ones indeed partake there. Where teachers are not honored, or where houses are conquered by women, where there is constant quarrel—the departed ones partake there, among the reviled twice-born and those born in contemptible families, among those who are born and established but perform wicked deeds. This is even more sinful—the food of those with evil actions.” “Tell me, O ascetic,” he asked, “how does one avoid becoming a departed spirit? Is it by fasting for one or three nights, or by difficult rites like the Chandrayana?” They answered, “One who is devoted to vows and purified does not become a departed spirit. One who always honors ascetics does not become a departed spirit. One who is compassionate to all beings, who delights in worshiping ancestors, who is endowed with forgiveness and generosity, who is devoted to fasting, who always worships the gods—such a person does not become a departed spirit. From you, we have heard who does not become a departed spirit.” He then asked, “O great sage, tell me by what cause one becomes a preta. If a Brahmin dies after eating food from a Shudra, what happens?” They replied, “Certainly, by that very food remaining in the belly, he becomes a preta. A person also becomes a preta simply by touch, and even more so. One who dwells in a heretical ashram, a drunkard, or one who violates another’s wife; whoever takes the property of the gods, of Brahmins, or of the teacher; one who harms mother, father, brother, sister, wife, or son; also by not performing prescribed sacrifices, or by neglecting those who are to be worshipped; a Brahmin-killer, an ingrate, a cow-slayer, and one guilty of the five great sins; and one who always desires the welfare of the teacher who imparts the law; who accepts gifts from the wicked, especially from atheists—all these become pretas, the departed spirits.