With a mind full of concern, the one who restrains is so named because he mounts up, bearing the weight of anxious thoughts. Among us, the scribe is considered the most sinful, and thus he is called by that name. The swift one, once so quick, becomes lame and then takes on a face as sharp as a needle. There is another, born with large testicles and shriveled limbs, marked by evil. If you have faith in listening, ask whatever else you wish to know, for all living beings on earth depend upon food for their existence. I, too, wish to hear truthfully about your food, and in turn, listen to ours, O you who are devoted to compassion for all creatures. That which you hear and constantly revile again and again, and always find fault with—know this: in houses where purity has been abandoned, the departed ones, the pretas, indeed partake of the offerings there. In such houses, teachers are not honored, nor are households ruled by women. Where there is constant quarrel, the departed ones feed, especially among the twice-born who are reviled and those born in contemptible families, and among those established in wicked deeds. This, indeed, is even more sinful—the food of those who perform evil actions. Tell me, O ascetic, how does one avoid becoming a departed spirit? Is it by fasting for one or three nights, or by performing difficult rites like the Chandrayana? One who is devoted to vows and purified does not become a preta. One who always honors ascetics is spared from that fate. One who is compassionate to all beings, who delights in worshiping the ancestors, who is endowed with forgiveness and generosity, who is devoted to fasting, and who always worships the gods—such a one does not become a departed spirit. From you, we have learned who avoids becoming a preta. O great sage, tell me by what cause one becomes a preta. If a Brahmin dies after eating food from a Shudra, what becomes of him? Certainly, because that food remains in his belly, he becomes a preta. A person may also become a preta simply by touch, and even more so by other means. One who dwells in a heretical ashram, a drunkard, or one who violates another's wife—these too become pretas. So also, whoever takes the property of the gods, of Brahmins, or of the teacher; one who harms mother, father, brother, sister, wife, or son; one who neglects prescribed sacrifices or fails to honor those who are to be worshipped; a Brahmin-killer, an ingrate, a cow-slayer, or one guilty of the five great sins; and one who always seeks the favor of a teacher who imparts the law. Whoever accepts gifts from the wicked, especially from those who are atheists—all of these are destined to become pretas. The pretas then asked: Tell us, what is the fate of those sinners who act against what is right? The Brahmin replied: There is one path for them—at the sacred confluence at Mathura. At the conjunction of Shravan and Dvadashi, and also in the month of Bhadrapada, with offerings of gold, food, and cloth, along with an umbrella and shoes—those pretas will no longer remain pretas, if they are honored in this way along the path. There, at the holy place, a man who bathes joyfully and is nourished, as instructed, and who, having become a preta, hears the greatness of that very holy place—such a one is freed from the state of being a preta. The pretas asked: By what act does one become freed from the state of being a preta? The Brahmin replied: The Purāṇa was once recounted to King Māndhātṛ when he inquired in ancient times. It was narrated by Vasiṣṭha. O most fortunate ones, listen as I recount it to you.