Auspicious dreams in Jainism

Auspicious dreams are often described in texts of Jainism which forecast the virtue of children. Their number varies according to different traditions and they described frequently as fourteen or sixteen dreams.[1] They are seen by mothers of the prominent figures in Jainism including Tirthankaras, on the conception of their soul in womb. They are interpreted as describing virtues and kingship of a future child. They are also found in various artistic media as an ornamentation.

Sixteen Auspicious Dreams in Jainism

Dreams

Their number and description differ according to major traditions of Jainism. According to Digambara tradition, there are 16 dreams while according to Svetambara tradition, there are 14 dreams. Most of them are same. They are described in detail as dreams of queen Trishala, mother of Mahavira, in some Jain texts.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Auspicious dreams
No. Digambara	No. Svetambara	Image	Dream	Interpretation	Notes
1	1	Airavata	white elephant with four tusks / Airavata	mother would give birth to a child with good character. The four tusk of elephant depicts the four components of Sangha: monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen.	similar to the elephant of Indra
2	2	Vrishabha	bull	The dream foretold the birth of a great religious Teacher who would spread the light of knowledge.[8]	-
3	3	Sinha	Lion	power, strength and fearlessness	He will be strong as the lion, in overcoming all enemies. -
4	4	Laxmi	Shri or Laxmi	wealth and prosperity	-
5	5	Phulmala	pair of garlands	popularity and respect	-
6	6	Purnima Chandra	full moon	peace and help to others	-
7	7	Surya	sun	supreme knowledge	-
-	8	Dhvaja	flag with lion pictured on it flying on golden stick	leadership	-
8	-	Meenyugma	pair of fishes	handsomeness	-
9	9	Purna Kalasha	full jug / pair of full vases with lotuses	perfect in virtues and would be full of compassion for all living beings.	considered auspicious in Dharmic religions
10	10	Padma Sarovar	lotus pond / celestial lake	unattachment to worldly possessions	-
11	11	Ratnakar	ocean / rough ocean	achievement of infinite perception and knowledge, spiritual liberation	-
16	12	Sinhasana	A very big, resplendent, golden throne set with bright diamonds and rubies.	Son will become the World Teacher[8]	-
13	12	Dev Vimana	celestial cheriot palace	indicated that angels in heaven would respect, honor his spiritual teachings	-
14	-	Palace	The rising residence of Nāgendra, the lord of the devas of the Nāgakumāra clan.[8]	Child will be born with clairvoyance	-
15	13	Ratnadhag	heap of jewels	virtues and wisdom	-
16	14	Nirdhumra Agni	smokeless fire	reform and restore religious order. He would burn his karmas and attain salvation.	-

These dreams features animals, objects and a goddess associated with positive virtues and kingship. They are generally considered positive symbols in Indian culture so they frequently appear in other Indian religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.[1]

Importance

Queen Trishala, Mahavira's mother has auspicious dreams. Folio 4 from Kalpasutra

In texts

These dreams are connected with the births of Tirthankaras and the other prominent people including Chakravarti, Balabhadra/Baladeva and Vāsudeva in Jainism. They are 63 in total and called Shalakapurusha. Their mothers see a certain number of dreams on conception of their soul in womb. They are described in the great detail in Kalpasutra.[1][7] 12th century Jain monk Hemchandracharya described and interpreted them in detail in Trishashthishalakapurush. Avashyak-niryukti, an early verse-commentary in Prakrit, explains relation of names of some Tirthankaras and these dreams.[1]

Foretelling as per *Kalpasutra*
Number of dreams	What it foretells
14 dreams	birth of a future Tirthankara or Chakravarti (universal monarch)
7 of the 14 dreams	birth of a future Vāsudeva
4 of the 14 dreams	birth of a future Baladeva/Balabhadra
1 of the 14 dreams	birth of a future Mandalika (king)

Festivals

On the fifth day of festival of Paryusana, Jain monks read or narrate the portion of the Kalpasutra dealing with birth of last Tirthankara Mahavira, to the Jain lay people. They are displayed to the people in the form of silver models and auctioned for temporary possession and display to other people for festive days.[1]

Other

Aspicious dreams as an ornamentation on cover of 19th-century manuscript

These dreams are symbolised and found in artistic media like paintings in manuscripts and on its covers, books, ornamentation in stone carvings, invitation scrolls and temple furnitures.[1][3]

References

Balbir, Nalini. "Article: Dreams". Institute of Jainology. jainpedia.org. pp. 1–4.
Shah, Pravin. "Fourteen Auspicious Dreams of Mother Trishala". Jain Study Center of North Carolina. www.fas.harvard.edu.
Natubhai Shah 1998, p. 180.
Quinn 2009, p. 270.
Jain & Fischer 1978, pp. 4–6.
Pruthi 2004, pp. 62–66.
"The Dreams of Queen Trishala". www.herenow4u.net. 22 September 2010.
Vijay K. Jain 2015, pp. 178–179.

Sources

Jain, Jyotindra; Fischer, Eberhard (1978), Jaina Iconography, Brill Publishers, ISBN 978-90-04-05259-8
Jain, Vijay K. (2015), Acarya Samantabhadra's Svayambhustotra: Adoration of The Twenty-four Tirthankara, Vikalp Printers, ISBN 978-81-903639-7-6, This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Pruthi, Raj (2004), Jainism And Indian Civilization : Culture and civilization series, Discovery Publishing House, ISBN 9788171417964
Quinn, Edward (2009), Critical Companion to George Orwell Encyclopedia of World Religions Series, Infobase Publishing, ISBN 9781438108735
Shah, Natubhai (1998), Jainism: the world of conquerors, 2, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 9781898723318

External links

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[jpo-1] Balbir, Nalini. "Article: Dreams". Institute of Jainology. jainpedia.org. pp. 1–4.

[harvard-2] Shah, Pravin. "Fourteen Auspicious Dreams of Mother Trishala". Jain Study Center of North Carolina. www.fas.harvard.edu.

[FOOTNOTENatubhai_Shah1998180-3] Natubhai Shah 1998, p. 180.

[FOOTNOTEQuinn2009270-4] Quinn 2009, p. 270.

[FOOTNOTEJainFischer19784–6-5] Jain & Fischer 1978, pp. 4–6.

[FOOTNOTEPruthi200462–66-6] Pruthi 2004, pp. 62–66.

[hnu-7] "The Dreams of Queen Trishala". www.herenow4u.net. 22 September 2010.

[FOOTNOTEVijay_K._Jain2015178–179-8] Vijay K. Jain 2015, pp. 178–179.