Dear Pali-L-ers,

This is the first of a 32-part posting of a trilinear
translation of the sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi and the
Buddha's interpretations of them, as related in the
Mahaasupina Jaataka (Jat. i. 334-345). The Jaataka describes
how Pasenadi, being troubled by a series of bad dreams, goes
to his brahmin advisors to ask what they mean. The brahmins
reply that the dreams foretell disaster for either the king,
his kingdom or his wealth. The only way this can be averted
is by commissioning the brahmins to perform an elaborate
sacrifice and paying them much gold. The king initially
agrees to the brahmins' proposal, but later his sensible
wife, Queen Mallikaa, persuades him to go to the Buddha for
a second opinion. After listening to the account of each
dream, the Buddha tells the king of the future event that
it presages and assures him that he has no cause to worry
as the dreams relate to things that will not come to pass in
his lifetime, but in a time of social and moral degeneracy
in the distant future.

Related reading:

Paloka Sutta, AN. i. 159-60
Adhammika Sutta, AN. ii. 74-6
Cakkavattisiihanaada Sutta, DN. iii. 57-79
Aga~n~na Sutta, DN. iii. 80-98

Ken & Visakha Kawasaki's retelling of the Mahaasupina
Jaataka, based on Chalmer's translation of it:
http://www.metta.lk/mirror/www.beyondthenet.net/bps/bps.pdf

__________________________


The First Dream

King Pasenadi:
aha.m, bhante, eka.m taava supina.m eva.m addasa.m:
I / venerable sir / one / firstly / dream / thus / saw
First of all, venerable sir, I saw a dream like this:

cattaaro a~njanava.n.naa kaa.la-usabhaa
four / collyrium-coloured / black bulls
Four sleek black bulls,

"yujjhissaamaa" ti catuuhi disaahi raaja`nga.na.m aagantvaa
shall fight / from four / from directions / palace yard / having come to
[thinking,] "We shall fight," came from the four directions to a palace yard.

"usabhayuddha.m passissaamaa" ti mahaajane sannipatite
bullfight / we shall see /when multitude / when gathered
When a crowd had gathered, [thinking] "We shall see a bullfight,"

yujjhanaakaara.m dassetvaa naditvaa gajjitvaa ayujjhitvaa'va pa.tikkantaa.
fighting pose / having shown / having bellowed / having thundered / not having
fought / at all / retreated
[the bulls] having shown a fighting pose, having bellowed, having thundered, [but] not
having fought at all, retreated.

ima.m pa.thama.m supina.m addasa.m, imassa ko vipaako ti?
this / first / dream / I saw / of this / what / ripening
This is the first dream I saw. What [will be] the outcome of it?


Pasenadi: Venerable sir, this is what I saw in the first
dream: Four sleek, black bulls came from the four directions
to a palace courtyard, thinking, "Let us fight!" When a
crowd had gathered, thinking, "Let us watch the bullfight,"
the bulls showed a fighting mien, bellowed and thundered,
but then retreated without fighting at all. This is what I
saw in my first dream. What will be the outcome of it?

__________________________

Comments:

In Pali the expression supina.m passati ('see a dream')
means both 'to dream' and 'to see something in a dream'.

taava: 'firstly' (not in PED)

mahaajane sannipatite: 'when the crowd had gathered'; an
example of the locative case being used to show the time of
an event.

naditvaa: 'having bellowed'. From nadati, usually translated
as 'roar'. It is from this that siihanaada ('lion's roar')
is derived.

Best wishes,

Dhammanando