Svapna-Vijñāna, the Science of Dreams
Svapna-Vijñāna, simply known as Svapna Vijnana, Sanskrit: स्वप्न-विज्ञान, Telugu: స్వప్న విజ్ఞానం, Hindi: स्वप्न विज्ञान.
Svapna-Vijñāna means “the science of dreams”. In the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa of the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa gives a long teaching to Nanda, his foster-father, on how to understand dreams. He explains when dreams bear fruit, what they mean, and whose dreams come true. He lists auspicious visions and their results, and inauspicious signs. He gives remedies for bad dreams. He also gives a special purifying verse for anyone who by accident sees the moon on the Caturthī (fourth lunar day) of the month of Bhādrapada.
When Dreams Bear Fruit
The time of night at which a dream is seen decides how soon its result comes. The night is divided into yāmas (watches of about three hours each).
| Time of the dream | When the result comes |
|---|---|
| Prathama-yāma (first watch of the night) | In 1 year |
| Dvitīya-yāma (second watch) | In 8 months |
| Tṛtīya-yāma (third watch) | In 3 months |
| Fourth yāma | In 15 days |
| Aruṇodaya (just before dawn) | In 10 days |
| Prātaḥkāla (dawn), waking at once | At once |
| A picture in the mind during the day (not in sleep) | Is surely obtained |
Those Whose Dreams Do Not Bear Fruit
Dreams give no result to these people:
- those who are troubled in mind
- the sick
- the fearful
- the naked
- one whose hair is loose and untidy
- one who goes back to sleep after a dream
- fools
- one who speaks of hunger at night
- one who mentions the Kāśyapa-gotra (the family line of Kaśyapa) after a dream
Auspicious Dreams and Their Results
Signs of Wealth and Plenty
- Being struck by weapons, or having wounds, worms, excrement or blood in a dream: one becomes wealthy
- The body covered with insects or excrement: wealth is near
- Eating one’s son, blood, gold or excrement in a dream: wealth
- Seeing or eating the flesh of birds or of humans: great wealth and good news
- Being bitten by a white serpent: wealth
- Seeing fish, meat, pearls, a śaṅkha (conch), sandalwood or diamond at the end of a dream: great wealth
- Being blindfolded with water touching the feet, a scorpion on the body, or seeing a water-scorpion or a snake in water: wealth, a son, victory and high standing
- Climbing onto cows, elephants, horses, buildings, mountains or trees: wealth
Signs of Becoming a King
- Being troubled by a tusked animal, a horned animal, a boar or a monkey: one becomes a king
- A divine woman saying “You are my Svāmī (master)”, followed by waking at once: one becomes a king
- A man on a chariot with white garlands, eating yogurt or pāyasam (sweet milk-rice): one becomes a king
- A brāhmaṇa man or woman giving amṛta (nectar), dadhi (yogurt) or an auspicious vessel: one becomes a king
- An elephant lifting one with its trunk and placing one on its head: one gains a kingdom
- A brāhmaṇa placing an umbrella or white grain on one’s head: one becomes a king
- Eating dadhi-anna (yogurt-rice) or pāyasam from a lotus leaf on a riverbank: one becomes a king
Signs of Learning and Fame
- A girl of eight wearing jewels, appearing happily: one becomes a poet and scholar
- A woman giving a book: one becomes world-famous, a kavīndra (king of poets) and a paṇḍita-śreshṭha (the best of scholars)
- One’s mother teaching as if one were a son: one becomes a Sarasvatī-suta (“son of Sarasvatī”), the greatest of scholars
- A brāhmaṇa teaching lovingly and giving books: one becomes equal to that brāhmaṇa
- Finding a book on the road: one becomes a famous paṇḍita (scholar)
Signs of Śrī (Prosperity and Good Fortune)
- A pūrṇa-kumbha (full water-pot), a brāhmaṇa, fire, flowers, tāmbūla (betel leaf) or a temple in a dream: Śrī
- Seeing a white or dark-skinned actor or a veśyā (courtesan): Śrī
- Seeing cow’s milk or ghee: wealth and sacred prosperity
- Receiving a pearl garland, a flower garland or candana (sandal paste): Śrī grows in every direction
- Gorocanā (a sacred yellow pigment), patākā (a flag), turmeric, sugarcane or cooked anna (food): Śrī flourishes
Signs of Divine Grace
- A brāhmaṇa in a dream saying “You are my dāsa (servant)”: one attains Hari-dāsya (service to Hari) and becomes a Vaishṇava
- Seeing a brāhmaṇa, Vishṇu, Śiva, Lakshmī, Pārvatī, Gaṅgā, Sarasvatī, Rādhikā or Bāla-Gopāla (the child Kṛshṇa): every kind of auspicious result
Signs of Health and Long Life
- Seeing someone dead in a dream: one becomes cirañjīvī (long-lived)
- Seeing a sick person: one becomes free of disease
- Seeing the sun and moon: one is freed from disease and bondage
Signs of Gaining a Wife
- Getting something that cannot be had: one gains a wife
- A mare, a female bird or a krauñcī bird (female crane): one gains a wife
Signs of a Son
- A brāhmaṇa man or woman coming to the house, laughing and giving fruit: a son will be born
- Being given a pūrṇa-kalaśa (full pot) in a dream: a son and wealth
- Suddenly receiving Surabhi (Kāmadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow): one gains land, and one’s wife becomes pativratā (faithful and devoted)
Colours in Dreams
White is usually auspicious. The exceptions are bhasma (ash), bones and cotton, which are inauspicious even though white.
Black is usually inauspicious. The exceptions are cows, elephants, horses, brāhmaṇas and devas, who are auspicious even when seen in black form.
Inauspicious Dream Signs
- Appearing as a low or wicked person: durgati (misfortune) or disease
- An enemy appearing: fear
- A fool appearing: a quarrel
- A kāminī (a seductive woman) appearing: loss of wealth
- Being at night in an unknown place: fear of thieves
A paṇḍita who dreams of suffering still receives the result he wishes for, as long as he does not tell the dream to a person of the Kāśyapa-gotra.
Duḥsvapna: Bad Dreams and Their Remedies
A duḥsvapna (bad dream) becomes a pāpa-bīja, a seed of pāpa (wrongdoing and its effects), if it is not countered. Bad dreams put obstacles in the way of good undertakings. The remedies for a duḥsvapna are:
- Japa (repeated chanting) of the Vishṇu Sahasranāma
- Japa of a Durgā mantra
- Japa of the Mṛtyuñjaya mantra
Done straight away on waking from a bad dream, these three remedies remove its harmful effects.
The Syamantaka Śloka: Purification after Seeing the Bhādrapada Caturthī Moon
The moon of Bhādrapada Śukla Caturthī, the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhādrapada, carries the stain of Candra’s past pāpa of carrying off Tārā. Seeing this moon by accident brings the same disgrace as a false accusation. To purify oneself after seeing it by accident, one recites the following śloka (verse) and drinks pūta-jala, water purified by speaking the mantra over it:
Siṃhaḥ Prasenam avadhīt, Siṃhaṃ Jāmbavān avadhīt, Sukumāra mā rodīḥ, tava hyesha Syamantakaḥ
The verse recalls the story of the Syamantaka jewel, in which a false charge fell on Kṛshṇa himself and the truth in the end came out. By reciting it, one sides with the truth, just as Kṛshṇa’s innocence was proved, and the stain of seeing the moon is washed away.
Sources
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 77, 78 and 82