Bad Prognosis Of Diseases Based On Dreams and Shadows

By Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa, B.A.M.S

Dreams can be something we want to achieve in our life, sort of goals. We have often heard other say ‘he has put lot of efforts to convert his dreams into beautiful realities’.

Introduction

But in this context term ‘dream’ is only related to dreams one sees in his sleep. We all see dreams in our sleep. We remember some and we don’t remember most of them when we wake up. We often wake up to nightmares and many times dreams are assuring and pleasant.
Read – Sleep Physiology, Tridosha Effect, Benefits Of Good Night Sleep

At least some of us would remember some event happening in current time as that which was seen in dreams long back. So our dreams are some way or other connected to our life and life events. It is also said that dreams are nothing but revisions and revisits of events and persons that has happened to us in real life.

Dreams may also sometimes be experiences of all sorts or visualisation of something which has not occurred. Dreams are reflections of what we think and they surface from our deep consciousness or sub-conscious levels when we sleep.
Read – Arishta Lakshanas – Ominous Signs And Symptoms Indicating Bad Prognosis

Ayurvedic texts explain few dreams which when occur in a diseased person or otherwise would prove bad prognosis or indicate impending death. Such ominous dreams are called swapna arishtas.

Bad prognosis dreams

Swapna Vishayaka Arishta – Ominous dreams which indicate death or bad prognosis
Ref – Charaka Samhita, Indriya Sthana, Chapter 5 – Purvarupamindriyam

Person sees bamboos, shrubs and creepers developing on his head in his dreams.
Person dreams self walking on bamboos, creepers, grass and thorny plants, suddenly undergoes unconsciousness or misses his path.
Dreams of birds building nests on his head
Person sees that his head is being shaved clean in his dreams.
Read – Bad Prognosis Based On Smell, Touch, Taste, Colour And Voice

Person sees himself being defeated by below mentioned in his dreams –

• Eagles, owls, crows
• rakshasas (demons),
• pretas (ghost),
• pishachas (demon),
• dravidas
• women
• andhrakas (man of lower caste)
• outcasts
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He finds himself falling over below mentioned in his dreams –

• dusty grounds
• mud of anthills / snake hives
• heap of ash
• in graveyard
• on sacrificial grounds
• in huge pits
• in dark wells
• falling into rivers and being drawn deep into it etc
  Read – How To Make Prognosis Of Disease According To Ayurveda?

Person finds himself doing below mentioned in his dreams –

• drinking unctuous substances like ghee, oil etc
• getting massaged with or massaging with unctuous substances
• being trapped
• being defeated
• obtaining gold
• quarrelling with someone
• vomiting
• purging
• destruction of both footwear
• peeling and falling off of skin
• himself being extremely happy
• himself being threatened and cursed by agitated and aggravated ancestors
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In his dreams, person sees one or more of below mentioned either falling down or getting destructed –

• teeth
• moon
• stars
• sun
• gods
• lamps
• eyes
• mountains etc
  Read – 16 Factors To Watch For A Healthy Mind And Body

In his dreams, person find himself entering one or more of below mentioned –

• forests consisting of red flowers
• red colored land
• land of sin or land wherein people who have sinned live
• graveyard
• dark caves etc

Person wears red garlands, shouts loudly and enters dangerous forests being naked, and accompanied by many monkeys.

Person sees in his dreams, fearful persons who wear saffron dresses or are naked; holding a staff in their hands, have dark complexion and red eyes.
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He sees in his dreams, women with below said features –

• having black complexion
• doing sinful acts
• doing untoward and unwholesome activities
• having elongated hairs, nails and breasts
• wearing red or saffron garlands and
• wearing red or saffron dress

If above said dreams occur to a patient or even a healthy person, they indicate impending death i.e. they will surely cause death of person who sees these dreams, in quick time.
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Reasoning

Why will a person see such dreadful dreams which suggest impending death?

When person is about to die or very near to his death, channels of mind become afflicted by all three vitiated doshas. As a result of affliction of mind and its channels by vitiated doshas, person will get dreadful dreams which are pointers of impending death.

When person is not completely asleep, he will get many types of fruitful or unfruitful dreams with the involvement of mind which is controller of all sense organs and sensory perceptions.

Ominous shadow

Ominous Signs Based On Shadow Of A Person – Chaya Pratichaya Sambandhita Arishta

Chaya means reflection or aura of an object. According to physics, following the law of reflection, each individual ray of light that strikes the mirror will reflect. Upon reflecting, the light will converge at a point. At the point where light from the object gets converged, a replica of actual object is formed. This is called as an image of the object.
Read – Main Cause For Diseases As Per Ayurveda

Similar mechanism also takes place in our eyes. When the light from the object or person whom we see reflects in the eye, the image of that object is formed. That is how we see.

When we look into the eye of some person, we can see our reflection in their eyes. Since the image formed is a replica of the object, it is just like shadow of a person (pratichaya). Just like the shadow follows us wherever we go, reflection of us is seen in every mirror we see or in every eye we look into.
Read – Arishta Lakshanas – Ominous Signs And Symptoms Indicating Bad Prognosis

Pratichaya and chaya are the terms often used interchangeably and are said to be synonymous. 

Kumarika is the name given to the image of some other person or object which can be seen in the eye, in the form of a shadow.
Read – How To Make Prognosis Of Disease According To Ayurveda?

Aura, Shadow

Ominous signs related to reflection / aura and shadow indicating impending death

If the image of the object or person formed due to reflection is not seen in the eye of a person, he should not be treated because it is an ominous sign and indicates that the person would die in short time.

If reflection of the person appears to be deformed in sunlight, moonlight, lamp light, water and in the mirror, the person should be considered equal to a dead person and should not be treated.
Read – Bad Prognosis Based On Smell, Touch, Taste, Colour And Voice

The following variations of reflection of an individual in the sunlight, moonlight etc is considered to be death indicators –
Shadow split into two parts
Shadow appears to be torn into pieces
Shadow seems to be inter-mingling or overlapping of many reflections in a single reflection or many shadows in a single shadow
Deficit shadows from different parts of the body

Excessive and extraordinary manifestation of shadows such as two bodies, two heads, 4 hands or some extra reflection / shadow of the body parts and organs
Total absence of shadow of the person
Thin shadow
Shadow of the head being missed
Read – Maha Chatushpada Adhyaya – Charaka Sutrasthan 10th Chapter

Ominous reflections, luster

Definition of Pratichaya and inauspicious reflection
The reflection (chaya) of a person which is seen in the water, mirror, sunlight etc depending on the shape and proportion of the body of an individual is called pratichaya i.e. the reflection which comes back or the reflection that returns and is visible to us when seen in different substances.

Reflection (chaya) is of 5 types depending on the features of five elements of nature. Among them, the reflection formed by the predominance of the air element (vayaviya chaya) is considered to be inauspicious and is responsible for death of a person or is said to trouble the person. The other four types formed by predominance of other four elements i.e. ether, water, fire and earth are beneficial.
Read – How Knowledge Is Gained Through Sense Organs?

Inauspicious luster
Reflection of the body depends on color (varna) and luster (prabha).

Luster is said to originate from fire element (tejas) and pitta. The luster which has spread over the body in a deficit way is dirty and dry in nature is considered to be inauspicious.

Other points to note –
The person in whom both the eyes are yellowish as in jaundice disease, the face appears to be enriched with abundance of muscles and the temples look devoid of muscles, who is always timid in nature, having constant heat of the body should not be treated.
Read – Kamala Roga Chikitsa: Liver Disorder Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

If the person awakes from the sleep continuously goes into a state of unconsciousness will face death within seven days and leads a miserable life as long as he survives.
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