Swapna Pradip Shakun Saroddhar - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, "Swapna Pradip Shakun Saroddhar" by Vardhamansuri, focusing on the content presented:

Overall Purpose:

The "Swapna Pradip Shakun Saroddhar" (which can be understood as "Lamp of Dreams: A Collection of Ominous Signs and Their Essences") is a Jain text that delves into the interpretation of dreams. It aims to guide individuals on understanding the significance of their dreams, categorizing them, and providing specific interpretations of various dream elements. The text emphasizes that dreams can be indicators of past karmas and future events, and also offers guidance on actions to take based on the nature of the dreams experienced.

Categorization of Dreams (Udyota 1):

The first section (Udyota 1) categorizes dreams into four types:

Daivata Svapna (Divine Dreams): These are dreams caused by divine beings, Yakshas, or auspicious signs. They are generally considered fruitful (saphal).
Svanubhavaja Svapna (Dreams from Self-Experience): These dreams arise from one's own feelings, intuition, or past experiences. They are also considered fruitful.
Dhatu Prakopaja Svapna (Dreams from Bodily Imbalance): These dreams are caused by imbalances in the bodily humors (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) or illnesses. They are generally considered fruitless (nishphal).
Chintodbhut Svapna (Dreams from Worry/Thought): These dreams stem from anxieties, fears, memories of the day's activities, or separation from loved ones. They are also considered fruitless.

Interpretation of Divine Dreams (Udyota 1 Continued):

The text then elaborates on the interpretation of divine dreams:

Favorable Divine Beings: Seeing benevolent deities like Ahants, Buddhas, Mahadevas, Brahma, Garuda, Ambika, Yakshas, Gandharvas, and Kshetrapalas, when depicted according to scriptural norms (with specific colors, vessels, weapons, and vehicles), are auspicious and grant happiness. They are associated with lineage growth, wealth, honor, and knowledge.
Unfavorable Divine Beings: Seeing these divine beings in fierce or distorted forms, or in states of distress (crying, naked, weak, fleeing, fighting, trembling, in dirty clothes, without ornaments), indicates sorrow, loss, poverty, fear, drought, or illness.
Actions of Divine Beings: Divine beings bestowing blessings, gifts, or speaking auspicious words like "Live happily," "Be stable," are auspicious. Conversely, speaking words of misfortune like "Fall," "Go," "Die" are inauspicious.
Idols: Seeing idols made of gold, silver, gems, or white stone is auspicious. However, seeing broken, incomplete, or idols in states of distress (sweating, crying, emitting blood, dancing, trembling) are inauspicious. Idols desiring worship indicate a connection to the spiritual well-being of the household.
Ancestors (Pitaro): Seeing ancestors happy, dressed in white, adorned, and engaged in good deeds is auspicious and indicates good fortune. Ancestors appearing sad, naked, seeking clothes, or in cremation grounds signifies poverty or a need for sustenance. Ancestors bestowing things are generally auspicious, indicating specific gains. However, ancestors appearing thirsty, with disheveled hair, or seeking water can be inauspicious.
Ascetics and Religious Figures (Linginah): Seeing ascetics, munis, or religious figures in auspicious states (clean, calm, well-dressed, well-behaved) is highly auspicious and grants good fortune. Seeing them in negative states (cruel, disgraced, dressed inappropriately, speaking ill) is inauspicious.
Cows: Seeing cows giving milk, with calves, and in healthy states is auspicious, indicating good health, family growth, and land acquisition. Seeing cows in distressed states (emaciated, crying, in saffron clothes) signifies loss of lineage or death.
Kings: Seeing kings in auspicious states (on thrones, with royal attire, adorned, on horses or chariots, speaking well, holding weapons) is very auspicious and brings great wealth. Seeing them in reversed or negative states (carrying a stick, walking on foot) indicates suffering and poverty.
General Principle: What is spoken by kings, Brahmins, cows, or ancestors in dreams is generally considered true. Dreams caused by physical imbalances or worries are considered fruitless.

The Seventy-Two Great Dreams (Udyota 2):

This section focuses on "self-experience" dreams, distinguishing between those originating within oneself and those related to others. It states that out of seventy-two such great dreams, thirty are auspicious, and the rest are inauspicious.

Auspicious Dreams (Thirty): These include seeing deities like Buddha, Hari, Shambhu, Brahma, Guha, Vinayaka, Lakshmi, Gauri, kings, elephants, bulls, the moon, the sun, flying vehicles, houses, fires, conches, oceans, lakes, flags, full pots, and wish-fulfilling trees/fruits.
Benefits of Auspicious Dreams: Seeing these auspicious dreams leads to kingship, immense wealth, honor, acquisition of knowledge, and prosperity.
- Entering Specific Beings: Entering the bodies of certain auspicious entities in dreams brings specific benefits:
  - Entering a lion, elephant, or bull leads to kingship.
  - Entering a horse brings ownership.
  - Entering a celestial being brings immense wealth.
  - Entering a cow brings land ownership.
  - Entering a king signifies great power.
  - Entering a deity brings spiritual power.
  - Entering a bull brings righteousness.
  - Entering a bird brings excellent fortune.
- Benefits of Receiving: Receiving specific items like horses, elephants, gold, cows, jewels, or wealth indicates corresponding gains in life.
- Ingesting Auspicious Items: Consuming milk, curd, ghee, or other auspicious foods brings health, fame, victory, wealth, and prosperity.
- Embracing/Touching Auspicious Entities: Embracing or touching women, friends, or rulers brings happiness and good fortune.
- Burning/Flames: Seeing one's body, bed, or house burning is auspicious, indicating happiness and wealth. Seeing an entire country burning signifies great kingship.
- Washing: Washing clothes signifies freedom from debt. Washing hands brings enjoyment, and washing feet brings respect.
- Other Auspicious Signs: Union with other women can bring prosperity. Embracing animals like horses, cows, or buffaloes brings good health. Vines or trees growing from the navel signify excellent kingship.
- Specific Actions: Being bitten by a snake brings wealth within ten days. Being bound by ropes signifies marriage and progeny. Death in dreams signifies an increase in lifespan and great honor. Riding a spear grants kingship. Wearing leather brings wealth.
Inauspicious Dreams (Forty-two): These include seeing Gandharvas, Rakshasas, ghosts, Pisachas, buffaloes, sacred mountains, rivers, cremation grounds, donkeys, cats, dogs, poverty-causing wells, music, betrayal, snakes, worms, human skulls, urine, feces, gold, silver, deformed beings, quarrels, distorted vision, dried-up waters, earthquakes, deafness, blindness, thunder, lightning, falling stars, explosions of the sun and moon, strong winds, intense heat, harsh words, and any dream that causes distress.
Consequences of Inauspicious Dreams: Seeing or interacting with these inauspicious entities brings immense suffering, great diseases, great sins, widowhood for women, loss of kingdoms for kings, destruction of countries, and decline of religious principles. Many such dreams indicate imminent death or destruction.

Interpreting Auspicious Dreams (Udyota 3):

This section continues the detailed interpretation of auspicious dreams:

Riding: Riding elephants, bulls, cows, mountains, palaces, horses, swans, lions, men, or deer brings prosperity, fame, strength, and wealth.
Gaining Items: Gaining items like horses, elephants, wealth, ghee, fish, food, clothes, jewels, or musical instruments brings corresponding benefits.
Consuming Items: Consuming milk, curd, ghee, meat, or fruits brings knowledge, fame, health, victory, wealth, and unexpected gains.
Personal Interactions: Embracing women, friends, or rulers is auspicious. Touching or applying sandalwood paste, or even urine and feces, can indicate significant gains.
Sexual Activity: Romantic interactions (kissing, embracing, sexual intercourse) are auspicious if they do not involve expulsion of seed (for men) or if they involve a woman without any loss of essence.
Fires: Seeing one's own body, bed, or house burning is a sign of happiness and wealth. Seeing an entire country burning indicates great kingship.
Washing: Washing clothes signifies freedom from debt. Washing hands brings enjoyment, and washing feet brings respect.
Gaining/Using Specific Items: Gaining specific items like bracelets, crowns, conches, or drinking from a gem-studded vessel indicates great fortune.
Confrontations: Winning battles against lions, snakes, or tigers, or uprooting mountains and trees, signifies great success and kingship.
General Principle: Any dream that is considered good in a waking state but appears in a dream is auspicious. Anything else is inauspicious.

Interpreting Inauspicious Dreams (Udyota 4):

This section elaborates on the negative interpretations of dreams:

Causes of Bad Dreams: Bad dreams are often caused by worry, anxiety, or illness.
Specific Inauspicious Signs:
- Music, laughter, and dancing can signify distress or problems for the family.
- Wearing flowers or garlands can indicate death or serious illness.
- Entering a mother's womb signifies great danger.
- Cutting nails, hair, or beards signifies debt or illness, which can be alleviated by dreaming of shaving oneself.
- Growth of unwanted plants anywhere other than the navel is inauspicious.
- A bird's nest in one's body signifies poverty.
- Falling from palaces, houses, trees, or mountains signifies loss of family, fame, and wealth.
- Seeing ghee being poured out or seeing oneself submerged in water indicates distress.
- Applying oil to the body or drinking oil signifies major illness and loss of intellect.
- Eating stones, milk, bitter substances, or sesame seeds leads to death.
- Eating charcoal, bones, or jaggery leads to poverty.
- Wearing dirty or naked clothes signifies suffering.
- Eating cooked flour-based items signifies acquiring bad karma.
- Seeking refuge with others indicates great fear.
- Dreaming of burning oneself, urinating, or excreting signifies illness.
- Having one's head or arms cut off signifies loss of position or vigor.
- Being cut by a weapon signifies deception by enemies.
- Being in a difficult situation with a parasol or vehicle indicates trouble.
- Applying kohl signifies extreme dirtiness.
- Breaking of a parasol, earthquakes, or eclipses signify troubles in the country.
- Seeing a dark person with a dark retinue and a metal rod signifies death within three months.
- Seeing oneself shaved, oiled, smelling of blood, or dressed in garlands signifies death within three months.
- Dreaming of oneself being eaten by dogs, vultures, crows, or nocturnal beings, or being attacked by donkeys or camels, signifies death.
- Seeing urine, feces, gold, or silver in a dream signifies death within nine months.
- Experiencing wounds, getting clothes torn, or being embraced by the dead signifies suffering.
- Wearing armor can indicate disturbances.
- Encountering fire, ice, or heavy rain signifies disease and death.
- Being in floods or facing foreign invasions signifies fear and danger.
- Seeing ash, stones, dust, or blood raining down indicates famine and hardship.
- Experiencing dizziness, going to a foreign land, or facing royal punishment signifies poverty.
- Performing base deeds or dreaming of being attacked by animals like dogs, jackals, or monkeys signifies disease or death.
- Dreams involving demons, spirits, or seeing one's body in a bad state indicate imminent death.
- Loss of eyes or ears, or entering holes, signifies misfortune.
- Not gaining wealth, or receiving a lot of copper or silver, signifies failure in business.
- Experiencing pain from wounds, loss of nails, or falling clothes signifies poverty or defeat.
- Harm caused by others, breakdown of work, or falling oneself signifies suffering.
- Having a foreign object enter the body signifies illness.
- Seeing dishonest people or eating charcoal signifies disease.
- Dragging dead bodies can lead to wounds.
- Seeing houses burning when carrying wood signifies house burning.

Actions After Dreaming (Udyota 5):

This final section provides guidance on what to do after experiencing dreams, especially auspicious ones:

After Auspicious Dreams:
- If one wakes up from a pleasant dream, they should remember the dream while sitting comfortably.
- They should then chant mantras, praises, or names of their chosen deity.
- They should pray to the deity for the fulfillment of the dream's auspicious results.
- They should spend the rest of the night contemplating the auspicious dream and discussing auspicious matters.
- They should avoid looking at or interacting with foolish, greedy, weak-willed, sinful, ill-spoken, hateful, wicked, or denigrators of gurus.
- They should seek out and approach virtuous people like kings, masters, ministers, wise individuals, gurus, Brahmins, or religious figures.
- They should offer fruits, flowers, or wealth to such individuals and narrate their dream to them.
- Listening to the interpretation and blessings from such a person should be met with gratitude and respect.
After Inauspicious Dreams:
- Auspicious dreams should not be shared with foolish, weak-willed, sinful women, or children.
- If one has an inauspicious dream, they should try to sleep again and recite words to ward off evil.
- They should perform rituals like bathing, charity, chanting, and homa (fire sacrifice) with increased devotion.
- They should observe a fast on that day.
- By following these measures, inauspicious dreams can be nullified, and an auspicious dream might occur on the second night.
General Principle: The interpretation of dreams should be done with wisdom, considering all aspects. What is spoken in dreams, if contrary to waking life, should be carefully considered.

In essence, "Swapna Pradip Shakun Saroddhar" is a comprehensive guide to dream interpretation within the Jain tradition, offering detailed interpretations of various dream elements and practical advice on how to navigate the implications of these dreams.