Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

The sight, again, in one’s dreams, of persons clad in yellow garments, or of men who are of unamiable features, or of men who are naked, or of men bearing staves,* or of men of dark hue (or clad in dark clothes), or of men with red eyes, is never regarded but as an ill omen (by those who are conversant with the effects of dreams). 37

The sight of a woman who is of dark colour, who is sinful, who is unobservant of the practices of the good, who has long hair and nails, and hanging breasts, or who is clad in garlands of red flowers and red garments, is regarded tp be as fatal as a fatal night. 38

Even these are terrible dreams by seeing which one that is afflicted by disease meets with death.

If a man in health sees such dreams, his life becomes doubtful, and rarely does he escape. 39

When the ducts which carry impressions of external objects to the mind, are obstructed by the three faults exceedingly excited, it is then, vis., at that exceedingly unpropitious time, that one sees such terrible dreams. 4°

One, when one’s slumbers are light, sees various kinds of

* That is, men who have renounced the world and betaken to the life of Bhikshus ; in other words, who support themselves by eleemosynary alms.— T.

CHARAKA -SAM HI TA.

p. 893

dreams, that are either realised or not realised, through one’s mind which, of course, is the lord of the senses. 41

The learned know that dreams are of seven kinds, viz., Seen, Heard, Felt, Desired, Imagined, Prognosticating, and Faultborn.* 42

Amongst these, the first five, as also the dreams one sees during daytime, and all dreams that are exceedingly short, and those that are exceedingly long, should be regarded by the intelligent physi¬ cian as not likely to be realised. 43

The dream that is seen during the first part of the night is realized partially. He, however, who having seen a dream does not sleep after it, (for the rest of the night), soon meets with a complete realisation of his dream, f 44

It should be known that if a person having (first) seen an evil dream, (afterwards) sees, without waking up, another dream that is auspicious and of beneficial form, he meets with good resultsj. 45

Here occurs a verse containing a Summary.

That physician who is conversant with those premonitory symptoms (of diseases, which bring about death), as also with these terrible dreams, never takes up, from ignorance, the treatment of diseases that are incurable. 1

Thus ends the Fifth -Lesson, called Purvarupiyam-Indriyam,

* The seven kinds of dreams are thus explained : When dreams arise from what has been seen, they fall under the class called Seen ; when from what has been heard, they fall under the class called Heard ; when they spring from what has been felt, they fall under the class called Felt ; when they are due to desires actually cherished, they fall within the class called Desired ; when they are caused by the action of the imagination (such as golden cow, which is a combination of gold and cow) they fall within the class called Imagined, When they indicate what is to happen, they are called Prognosticating ; lastly, when they are especially due to the action of the excited faults, they are called Faultborn.— T.

t In the second line, the pronouns ‘yah’ and ‘sah’ refer to the person who dreams, and not to the dream which is dreamt. ‘Mahaphala,’ therefore, is an adjective of ‘sah’ as indicating the person. Gangadhara correctly explains the word as implying ‘mahaphalapraptah syat.’ ‘Sadyah’, meaning soon, implies, as explained by the commentators, a period of three days.

It should be noticed that under the circumstances indicated, dreams, both good and bad, are realised, and not the good only as the use of the word ‘mahaphala’ may, at first sight, seem to imply. — T.

J In other words, the evil dream is not realised. — T.

*94

CHA RAKA-SAMHITA.

in the Division called I ndriy asthanam , of Agnivega’s treatise as revised by Charaka,

LESSON Vf,

We shall now expound the Lesson on ' Indriyas’ (indications-- of life) as connected with the several sorts of persons.

Thus said the illustrious son of Atri. 1

O great Muni, how many kinds of diseased persons are there¬ in whom treatment does not produce1 any result and whom: (there¬ fore) the physician should refuse to treat ? 2

Listen now to what the illustrious son of Atri’s race, thus asked by Agniveca a question that is difficult to answer, expounded the topic to the latter.* 3The physician should forsake that man the upper part of whose chest is exceedingly pained' while he speaks,, from whose stomach the food taken issues out, or in whose stomach, the food, if it does not come out, is not digested ; whose strength decreases, and thirst increases ; and who is afflicted with a deep-seated pain in the region of the chestf 4-5

Remembering the directions of .Atri’s son, no medicine- should be given to that person whose hiccup rises from regions, deep be¬ low, and who has copious bloody motions.} &