Preta (Bhūt)

Interpretations vary by region and community, but the source emphasizes three commonly cited causes for a deceased person becoming a bhoota: a violent or untimely death, unsettled matters or attachments from their life, or the failure of survivors to perform proper funerary rites. The bhoota is thus framed as an instance of the unsettled dead — a category of post‑mortem existence distinct from properly transitioned ancestors — arising from social and ritual disruptions surrounding death.

The source does not provide a standardized physical description; bhootas are identified primarily by their origin and condition as perturbed, restless deceased rather than by a single visible form. Descriptions and imagery may vary regionally, but the summary in the source treats them as the lingering dead rather than a uniform corporeal type.

The source characterizes bhootas chiefly as 'perturbed and restless' spirits who remain among the living because something prevents them from moving on. It does not supply further details about specific powers, typical interactions, or habitual behaviors (for example, causing illness, speech, or precise forms of haunting). The emphasis is on their unsettled status rather than enumerated supernatural abilities.