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LIFE IN ANCIENT INDIA
The child possessing the entire and complete five sense organs, with the lucky signs, marks and good qualities, well-formed and having full weight and length was considered good."
DREAMS
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 (suminasaltha) and books were written on the subject It is considered as one of the eight divisions of Mahanimitta " The Bhagavati 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 of 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 sarastambha 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
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.10
Lord Mahavira 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 Mănuşottara 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
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 Sri, a garland, the moon, the sun, a banner, a jar, a lotus-pool, the sea, the celestial palace, a heap of jewels
15 Kalpa su 18
18
In the Mahasupina Jātaka (1, 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 Brahmanas said that great dangers were threatened either to his kingdom, his treasures or his life
17 Uttara. sū 15 7
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16. 6.
19
on
Uttara 8 13 com. by gantisüri The commentator Nemicandra quotes some Präkrt verses on the interpretation of dreams, which shows the existence of literature dreams in Präkrt Some of these verses find parallelism in Jagaddeva's Stapnacintamant edited by Dr. Negelein (Charpentier, Uttara, notes, p 310 f)
10 Bhag. 16.6 Ava cu p 274, 31 1bid. p. 394,
