Other Translations: Deutsch
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Jātaka Stories of Past Lives 77
Ekakanipāta The Book of the Ones
Varuṇavagga The Warding Tree
7. Mahāsupinajātaka Sixteen Great Dreams: a past life story
“Usabhā rukkhā gāviyo gavā ca, “Bulls; trees; cows; oxen; King Pasenadi is perturbed by sixteen dreams, but the Buddha assures him that these do not affect him, but are portents of times to come. Each dream depicts an inversion or perversion of the just order of things. | Four snorting black bulls depart without fighting. | Sapling trees flower. | Cows suckle at newborn calves. | Oxen are unyoked and calves given the reins.
Asso kaṁso siṅgālī ca kumbho; horse; bronze goblet; she-jackal; water-pot; A horse eats from two mouths. | People beg a jackal to defecate in a fine goblet. | A she-jackal eats a rope as it is being spun. | People pour water into a full pitcher.
Pokkharaṇī ca apākacandanaṁ, lotus pond; uncookable rice; sandalwood; A lotus-pond is muddy in the middle and clear on the edges. | Rice will not cook. | People barter sour milk for sandalwood.
Lābūni sīdanti silā plavan”ti. pumpkins sink; stones float;
Maṇḍūkiyo kaṇhasappe gilanti, frogs swallow black cobras;
Kākaṁ supaṇṇā parivārayanti; golden swans surround a crow; Text reads supaṇṇa (“phoenix”), but commentary reads suvaṇṇa (“golden”), explaining as “golden royal geese” (suvaṇṇarājahaṁsa).
Tasā vakā eḷakānaṁ bhayāhi, the wolf trembles for fear of the sheep.” The verse has seven lines, with each pair of lines having a different metre: opacchandasaka, vetālīya, and tuṭṭhubha for the last three.
Vipariyāso vattati nayidha matthīti. No perversion of reality is happening here for me. This sentence is a prose addendum. It seems to be an affirmation for someone suffering bad dreams: they remind themselves that the perverse, upside-down things they saw in the dream are not real.
Mahāsupinajātakaṁ sattamaṁ.