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Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c12.s7.t1: Dreams

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c12.s7.t1

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Dreams

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Dreams played an important part in the birth of a child in the life of ancient Indians.¹⁶ There was a regular science of dreams (*suminasattha*) and books were written on the subject. It is considered as one of the eight divisions of *Mahānimitta*.¹⁷ The *Bhagavatī* devotes a section on dreams where five kinds of dreams are mentioned. It is stated that if at the end of the dream one beholds a row of horses, elephants or oxen or rides on them, one achieves salvation. Similarly, the dream of ocean, a big rope, yarn of various colours, a heap of iron, copper, lead, silver, gold, a pile of wood, leaves, skin, straw, husk, ashes and dust, various kinds of grass such as *śarastambha* etc, the jar of milk, curds, ghee, honey, wine, oil and fat, a big lotus pond, jewelled palace and jewelled aerial car leads to salvation.¹⁸

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¹⁶ In the *Mahāsupina Jātaka* (I, 77), p 344 king Pasenadi makes an offering in order to prevent the effect of evil dreams. The king had sixteen dreams in one night. In the morning when he enquired, the Brāhmaṇas said that great dangers were threatened either to his kingdom, his treasures or his life.

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¹⁷ *Uttarā. sū* 15. 7

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¹⁸ 16. 6.

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Then by seeing decorated articles, horse, elephant and a white bull in dream one gets fame, and one who having passed urine or red stool in dream wakes up, loses wealth.¹⁹

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¹⁹ *Uttarā* 8. 13 com. by Śāntisūri. The commentator Nemicandra quotes some Prākṛt verses on the interpretation of dreams, which shows the existence of literature on dreams in Prākṛt. Some of these verses find parallelism in Jagaddeva's *Svapnacintāmaṇi* edited by Dr. Negelein (Charpentier, *Uttarā*, notes, p 310 f).

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Lord Mahāvīra is said to have beheld the following ten dreams before attaining omniscience: defeating of a fierce demon, a white male cuckoo, a variegated male cuckoo, a pair of garland, a herd of cow, lotus pond, crossing of a big ocean by swimming, the shining sun, encircling the Mānuṣottara mountain from all sides, and climbing up the Meru.²⁰ The *thera* Bambhagutta is said to have seen in dream that his bowl filled with milk was emptied by a stranger which indicated the arrival of someone to study the sacred lore from him.²¹

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²⁰ *Bhag.* 16.6. *Ava cū* p 274.

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²¹ *ibid.* p. 394.

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In Jain texts usually a mother before conception beholds certain dreams. We learn that at the time of the conception of Mahāvīra his mother had fourteen great dreams in which she saw an elephant, a bull, a lion, the besprinkling of goddess *Śrī*, a garland, the moon, the sun, a banner, a jar, a lotus-pool, the sea, the celestial palace, a heap of jewels and fire ²² The Nāyādhammakahā gives a similar description of Dharinī's dreams; she saw a big elephant passing into her mouth during the night of her conception.²³

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²² *Kalpa* 4 66-87 ²³ *Nāyā* 1, p 8 ff Queen Māyā, the mother of Gotama Buddha, dreams a white elephant entering her body, which is sculpturally represented on the Barhut Stūpa and elsewhere (*Nidānakathā*, 1, p 50 ff) ²⁴ *Nāyā* 1, p 19, cf *Avadāna Śataka* I, 3, p 15 ²⁵ *Nāyā* 1 p 10 ff, also *Uttarā Tī* 9 p 132 a ²⁶ *Vya Bhā* 1 335, p 16a. ²⁷ 3, p 57 ²⁸ *Vivā* 2, p 14. ²⁹ According to another tradition the piece of flesh was cut from a hare (*Āta. cū.* II, p 166). ³⁰ *Niryā*. 1, pp. 9-11.

Cites (4)