Dream interpretation in Ramcharitmanas

We all dream at night; it is a mysterious state of being which is beyond any kind of reasoning. Children believe that they are taken to a wonderland of dreams in their sleep by fairies. Dreams seem to be magical even for grown-ups; they travel to a different world in dreams where they see themselves crying sometimes and making merry at other times. And as soon as they wake up, the dream fairies vanish one by one. Many a time, it is not possible to remember the dream in the awakened state. Only some which leave a strong impression on the mind are fresh in the memory. We feel as if we have spent the entire night in dreaming but in reality, dreams happen only for a few seconds. Most of the dreams do not have any meaning and are false in nature. This theory is explained by Shreemadgoswami Tulsidasji in these lines-

“Sapne hoyi bhikhari nripu ranku nakpati hoyi

Jaage labhu na haani kachu timi prapanch jiya joyi”

However, a few dreams herald future events, both joyous and tragic, and most of the times, turn out to be true. People with a calm and pure soul often sense future happenings and dream of them beforehand.

The dreams described in Ramcharitmanas explain this fact. At first, the dream that was experienced by Mata Parvati in relation to her marriage to Lord Shiva is vividly described. Mata Parvati went to take part in the ‘yagya’ done by her father against the wishes of her husband. But due to the insulting remarks made in connection to her husband there, she jumped into the fire of the ‘yagya’ and sacrificed her life. Lord Shiva was left alone. For a re-union with Lord Shiva, Paravati took birth as Uma in the house of King Himachal. As per the Almighty’s plan, sage Narad went to king Himachal and told him that his daughter is destined to get married to Lord Shiva. The description of Lord Shiva by Narad left the king worried and scared. Thereafter, the queen and mother of Uma, went to her and tried all means to make her understand that Lord Shiva is not the right match for her. Uma calmed down her mother by narrating to her the dream that she had seen. As indicated by the dream, she started a rigorous meditation and prayed to seek the attention of Lord Shiva. Goswamiji wrote-

“Sunahi maatu main deekh as sapan sunayu tohi

Sundar gaur subiprabar as upadeseyu  mohi

Karahi Jaayi tapu sailkumari

Naarad kaha sau satya bichari

Maatu pitahi puni yah mat bhava

Tapu sukhaprada dukha dosha nasava

Tapabal rachayi prapanchu vidhata

Tapabal Vishnu sakal jaga trata

Tapabal sambhu karahi sanghara

Tapabal seshu dharayi mahibhara

Tapa adhaar sab srishthi bhavani

Karahi jayi tapu as jiya jaani

Sunata bachan bismit mahataari

Sapan sunayu girihi hankari

Maatu pitahi bahubidhi samujhayi

Chali Uma tapa hita harshayi

Priya parivaar pita aru mata

Bhaye bikal mukha aawa na baata

Bedsira muni aayi tava sabahi kaha samujhayi

Paarbati mahima sunata rahe prabodhahi payi”

This dream turned true and the austere prayers of Uma forced Lord Shiva to answer her and finally led to the union of Shree Shankar and Parvati.

Apart from this dream, the dream seen by Kaikeyi has been described in details. Here, it is worth mentioning that the dream seen by queen Kaikeyi though turned true, yet the evil mind of the queen could not comprehend the real meaning of the dream. The dream was an indicator of the demise of king Dasharath, the anger (kshob)of her beloved son Bharat and aversion of people of the kingdom towards her.  Shreemadgoswamiji made his character Kaikeyi speak to Manthra in these words-

“Sunu Manthra baat phuri tori

Dahini aankhi nit pharkayi mori

Din prati dekhayu raati kuspane

Kahayu na tohi moha bas apne

Kaha karo sakhi sudha subhayu

Dahin bama na jaanayu kaayu”

Meanwhile, queen Kaikeyi’s dear son, Bharat, who was staying with his maternal uncle, started experiencing bad dreams regularly. He was a person with a pure soul and so he understood the underlying messages of the dreams. He also tried to get relief from the bad effects of these dreams. The sad incidents that took place in the province of Ayodhya such as the exile of Shree Rama, Sita and Lakshmana to the forest and demise of Dasharatha due to this shocking incident were experienced by prince Bharat while being in his uncle’s house. Bharat started experiencing bad dreams the day these unfortunate events started to take place. As  remedial measures, prince Bharat worshipped Lord Shiva everyday and started donating to the needy people. Manaskar has described these events in these lines:

“Anarathu avadh arangbheyu jab te

Kusgun hohing bharat kahu tab te

Dekhahi raati bhayanak sapna

Jaagi karahi katu koti kalpana

Bipra jewayi dehing din daana

Siva abhishek karhing bidhi nana

Ehi bidhi sochit bharat man dhaawan pahuche aayi

Gur anushaasan shravan suni chale ganesu manayi”

After this, there is a vivid description of the dream that Sita saw. Prince Bharat came back from his uncle’s house to Ayodhya. He was shocked to see in reality that his beloved brothers and sister-in-law have been sent to an exile and that his father the king, Dasharatha is no more. He was moved to tears when he learnt that he is the cause of these sad happenings. Immediately, he made up his mind to go to the forest and bring back his brothers and sister-in-law. Sita came to know that Bharat is coming to take them back because of a dream that she saw. She described her dream to Shree Rama the next day-

“Uha Raamu rajani avashesha

Jaage siya sapan us dekha

Sahit Samaaj Bharat janu aaye

Naatha biyog taapa tana taaye

Sakal malin mana deena dukhari

Dekhi saasu aan anuhari

Suni siya sapan bhare jala lochan

Bhaye sochbas socha bimochan

Lakhan sapan yaha neek na hoyi

Kathin kuchaha sunayihi koyi”

Sita narrated the dream to Lord Rama and told him about the sorrowful atmosphere of Ayodhya and the sad faces of her mother-in-laws wearing white clothes. Lord Rama was not aware of the death of his father, king Dasharatha, but when he heard the dream, he understood the bad implication of the dream. He then followed the rules laid down by the sages to nullify the bad effects of this dream-

“Asa kahi bandhu samet nahane

Puji purari saadhu sanmane”

As a result, Lord Rama, along with his brother, Lakshamana took a bath and worshipped Lord Shiva and showed respect to the saints. The tragic images that Sita saw in her dream were actually related to the events of the past. However, the dream that indicated that prince Bharat is all set to meet his brother Lord Rama, was a future incident.

The last dream that is described is that which was experienced by the ‘rakshashi’, Trijata. Trijata was one of the ‘daasis’ (one who served Ravan) who lived in Lanka. Due to the good values inherited from her previous birth, she had noble thoughts. She was naturally liked by Sita, who was imprisoned by Ravana. As Trijata was a good-hearted person so the dream that she saw became true.

When Ravana could not force Sita to become his queen, then he took out a deadly sword and set out to kill her. But Mandodari, queen of Ravan, skillfully stopped him to do so. Unable to kill her, Ravan called upon all the appalling ‘rakshashis’ and asked them to disturb and frighten her. Once they received the orders, the ‘rakshashis’ started their awful acts of frightening Sita. By seeing Sita’s plight, Trijata called these ‘rakshashis’ and told them about her dream and requested them not to disturb Sita anymore. Goswamiji writes-

“Trijata naam racchasi eka

Ramcharan rati nipun bibeka

Sabanhau boli sunayesi sapna

Sitahi seyi karahu hit apna

Sapne banar lanka jaari

Jaatudhan sena sab maari

Khar aarudh nagan dasasisa

Mundit sir khandit bhuj beesa

Ehi bidhi sau dacchin disi jaayi

Lanka manhu bibhishan paayi

Nagar phiri raghubir dohayi

Tava prabhu sita boli pathayi

Yah sapna main kahayu pukari

Hoyihi satya gaye din chari

Taasu bachan suni te sab dari

Janaksuta ke charanhi pari”

The results and description of these kind of dreams have been done in certain books related to dreams in the following manner-         

 “Swapneshu nagnan mundanshcha raktakrishnambarabritaan

Vyangashcha vikritana krishnana sapashaana saayudhaanapi

Sa swastho labhate vyadhing rogi yatyeva panchatama”

Trijata scared the ‘rakshashis’ by narrating her dream in which she had seen that Lanka is burnt to ashes by a monkey and Ravan is doomed. Hence, she requested all the ‘rakshashis’ to leave Sita in peace and behave with her in a respectful manner.

The difference between the last two dreams and Trijata’s dream is that the last two dreams indicated past incidents whereas Trijata’s dream was a sign of a future event. All the dreams described in Manas were ones that turned true in reality.