Preta

प्रेत

Preta

Lesserwell-documentedHinduBuddhistJainIndian SubcontinentSoutheast AsiaEast Asia
Origin

One who dies full of craving, attachment, or greed is reborn as a Preta. In Buddhist cosmology, the Preta realm is one of the six realms of existence, a liminal state of torment between lives.

Appearance

Emaciated humanoids with enormous distended bellies but impossibly small mouths and throats. The hair hangs loose and the eyes are sunken. Some accounts describe them as invisible but felt as a cold, hungry presence.

Abilities

Can cause disease in the living, particularly stomach ailments. Draw sustenance from rotting food and the spiritual merit of the living. Can possess those who share their living patterns.

Weaknesses & Wards

Weaknesses

  • ritual
    Sraddha ceremony — rice and water offered to ancestors

Wards

  • ritual
    Pitru Paksha rituals for ancestors
  • substance
    Sesame seeds offered with water
Sources
  1. [1]
    The Buddhist Path to Liberation. Bhikkhu Bodhi. 2000. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Wisdom Publications.academic
  2. [2]
    Ancestors and Spirits in the Hindu World. Parry, Jonathan. 1994. Death in Banaras. Cambridge University Press.academic
well-documented