History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c89.199.1

v7.c89.199.1

It has already been seen (p 728, notes 1157 and 1158) how in the Vedic literature dreams had been associated with good luck or ill-luck. The two epics, the Svapnādhyāya (of Ātharvaṇa-pariśiṣṭa LXVIII pp 438-449), the Bṛhad-yoga-yātrā of Vārāha (chap 16. 1-31), Purāṇas such as Vāyu (chap 19. 13-18), Matsya (chap. 242), Viṣṇudharmottara (II. 176), Bhaviṣya I. 194, Brahmavaivarta-purāṇa (Gaṇeśa-khaṇḍa 34. 10-40), describe good or bad dreams; Agni (229, many verses of which are the same as those of Matsya chap. 242), Bhujabala of Bhoja (pp. 298-304 verses 1347-1378), the Adbhutasāgara pp. 493-515 deal at length with the matters relating to dreams and śāntis therefor. Śaṅkarācārya in his commentary on Vedāntasūtra¹²⁵² remarks that those who have studied the Svapnādhyāya declare that to see oneself riding on an elephant or the like is auspicious and to see oneself sitting in a conveyance drawn by asses is inauspicious (or unlucky). It appears that rarely an ancient writer like Aṅgiras¹²⁵³ said 'the movements of planets, dreams, nimittas (like throbbing), utpātas (portents) produce some consequences by chance; wise men are not afraid of them'. Numerous dreams are mentioned in the Rāmāyaṇa on several occasions. Some examples may be given. In the Sundarakāṇḍa (chap. 27, 23 ff) Trijaṭā (a *rākṣasī*) details several dreams that she saw and that indicated the destruction of rākṣasas and that were favourable to Rāma. Among the evil omens that she saw in her dream about Rāvaṇa were;