By examining abject preta bodies in accordance with their aesthetic description and function in relation to Buddhist understandings of karma and rebirth, we can observe two overlapping somatic discourses at work. The first speaks to the ultimately impermanent nature of the body, while the second depicts bodies as simultaneously ethical subjects and objects.

In this article, the author examines depictions of the abject bodies of disgusting pretas in early South Asian narratives. She explores what these abject bodies reveal about early, Indian Buddhist attitudes toward embodiment and difference.