History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.514.4

v4.c62.514.4

1-18 require that for seven days before starting on an invasion the king is to engage in the worship of and make offerings to various gods, first to Gaṇapati, then to all the guardians of the quarters, the planets, Aśvins, Viṣṇu and Śiva and the images in the temples of his capital. Then he is to note what good and bad dreams he sees on those days in his sleep and judge accordingly. Vide Matsya 242, Agnipurāṇa 229 for dreams portending good and evil. This prognostication of good fortune from dreams is very ancient. The Chāndogya Up. (V. 2. 8-9) quotes a verse to the effect that when a man is engaged in the performance of solemn sacrifices for securing some object and sees a woman in a dream he should feel that his rite will be crowned with reward. Similarly the Ait.³⁰⁵ Ār. III. 2. 4 mentions the signs of approaching death, one of which is to see in a dream a dark person with black teeth. Both these passages are quoted by Śaṅkara in his bhāṣya on Vedāntasūtra II. 1. 14. The Viṣṇudharmottara II. 132-144 (based on Garga), II. 164, Matsya 228-241, Agni 230-232 are concerned with the portents and omens in the heavens, in the sky and on the earth and rites (śāntis) meant to avert the evil prognostications from them. The Mānasollāsa II. 13 pp. 97-112 and Rājanītiprakāśa pp. 331-351 also deal with these and other astrological matters, which are passed over here, though some of them are very interesting e. g. Viṣṇudharmottara II. 135. 1 refers to the weeping and dancing of images.