________________
68
THE RIŞTASAMUCCAYA
can be seen that such beliefs were based on the things dreamt of. One gets a dream of snakes if he has killed anything and no good is to be expected from such a dream.
Some consider dreams to be the revelations. Some s specific discipline is also enjoined to minimise or obliterate the effect of bad dreams but it appertains to the Science of the Rituals. Contrary to the view held by the Dacota, the Menominee maintained a theory that the dream of moon meant long life to the dreamer though they side by side believed 10 that the end was piteous. As time rolled on, some, namely Hidatsa, introduced limitations and remodelled the theory of dreams by stating that only those dreams which follow fasting, sacrifice or prayer were to prove as realities'. The nature and the sex of the unborn babe were determined by is the dream of a pregnant woman. If one dreamt of firearms, he was sure to come across them by day. The dream of a cherrywood pointed good to a fasting youth who dreamt it. The kafir was guided in his medical practice by the dreams he got. If one was to get horses or anything of that sort, zo he must previously get dreams related to them. On the night previous to an engagement, Maoris consulted dreams especially of the principal priest?. They sincerely believed that the dream made manifest what was unmanifest before.
It was a pet theory of the Hurons that the dream was a mental 25 expression of the cravings of the soul. There is a fantastic notion prevalent among the Japanese regarding Baku which is an animal entrusted with the work of eating dreams. It is a composite creature every limb of which represented that
of a certain animal. It was believed that a picture of it aguaranteed the safety of animals if it was kept in the house.
In the case of princes and princely persons, the Chinese placed a word representing that creature in their own alphabet in the wooden pillows to ward off the effect of the evil dream.
To save the dreamer from the malign influence of the dream, 35 it was quite sufficient, they thought, to place a word signifying
this animal in the pillow. If a nightmare haunted him or a bad dream molested, it was advisable to recite three times, after getting up in the morning this invocation “Devour, o
1 Dorsey, 11 RBEW, p. 516; also compare st. 108 of the text. 2 E. SHORTLAND, Maori Religion and Mythology, London, 1882, p. 36.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
