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104
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
with clusters of expanded lotuses, or crossing the sea or a river full of water be seen or experienced in a dream by a man, he attains wealth, happiness and prosperity and relief from diseases.
"If a cow, a horse, an elephant, a king or a flower called prashasta is seen in a dream by a sickly person, his illness disappears; if by one laid in sick bed, he is cured; if by one confined in a jail, he is released." 1
If a child grinds its teeth and weeps in a dream, it indicates liquidation of pecuniary liabilities. One who sees a man die in a dream is blessed with longevity.2
A bite by a white snake in a dream is an omen of increase of wealth,3
"All black objects except a cow, a horse, a king, an elephant, and fish, seen in a dream, are the precursors of disease and calamity."
"One who sees in a dream his body devoured by crows, herons, camels, serpents, boars, eagles, foxes, dogs, wolves, asses, buffaloes, birds moving in the sky, tigers, fishes, alligators or monkeys, experiences in the immediate future a heavy loss or a terrible disease.*
The following objects seen, heard or experienced 'in a dream are believed to forebode evil :
1. Cotton, (2) ashes, (3) bones, (4) whey, (5) singing, (6) merriment, (7) laughing, (8) studying, (9) a woman dressed in red, (10) a red mark on the forehead, (11) a gandharva or heavenly bard, (12) a demon, (13) a wizard, (14) a witch, (15) a prickly shrub, (16) a cemetery, (17) a cat, (18) vomiting, (19) darkness, (20) a hide, (21) a woman with a bad reputation, (22) thirst, (23) a contest between two planets, (24) fall of a luminous body, (25) a whirlwind (26)
1 The Shastri, Bbàyàvadar Pàthashala.
3 The School Master of Gondal.
5 The School Master of Chhatràsa. The School Master of Dadvi.
vishotak (a disease in which the skin is covered with ulcers) (27) one carrying away one's vehicle, wife, jewels, gold, silver or bellmetál utensils, (28) the breaking of one's own house (29) the drinking of a poisonous liquid."
If in a dream one relishes a dish of sweetmeats, plays upon a musical instrument, or sees a widow dressed in the garment of an unwidowed woman, it is believed to prognosticate evil and bring misfortune.
Similarly, if in a dream, the sleeper marries or hears the crowing of a crow or the bark of a dog, or an owl speak like a man, it portends misfortune.
Seeing an auspicious mark, or bathing in or being besmeared with oil, in a dream, is an indication of one's death in the near future. Going to the south riding a he buffalo, or seeing a widow, brings on misfortune.7
If a man in health comes across a corpse in a dream, he apprehends illness. If a patient does the same, he fears death.8
It is a common belief that the soul can leave the body temporarily.
When a man feels thirsty in sleep, his soul is supposed to leave the body to drink water, and if it finds the water pots covered, not to return to the body, which is found dead the next morning.* It is for this reason that most people drink water at the time of going to bed.
Shankaracharya was a life long celibate. Once, in a discussion with the wife of Mandan Mishra, she put to him a question on the subject of the pleasures of married life. To answer the question it was necessary to have the experiences of a married life. To
The School Master of Todia.
4 The Shastri, Bhàyàvadar Pathshala. The School Master of Kotda Sangani, The School Master of Gondal.
9 The School Master of Dhànk.
*The Musalman Haditte has it that spirits cannot open closed doors, uncover covered pots, or even remove a piece of cloth if it is spread over a tray or vessel to save its contents from view.
