Agni Purana in one of the adhyayas has discussed the nature and significance of human dreams. It has been said that the dream in which, a person sees that grass, mosses, plants, and creepers have grown all over his body, except about the region of the umbilicus, indicates evil. The dreams in which a person thinks that he has shaved his head, or sees that his head has been covered over with the particles, of bell metal or his body has been bespattered with mud, or that he has been moving about dirty and insufficient garments, are bad. The dreams in which a man thinks that he has been falling down from a great height, is swinging to and fro in a hammock, or playing on a harp or on any other stringed instrument, augurs evil.
It has been stated in the Purana that the dreams in which a man thinks that he is collecting ores of pig iron, or sees a dead serpent lying across his way, or sees a Chandala or a tree blooming with red flowers, should be deemed as the harbingers of evil. Similarly the dream in which a man rides on a boar or a dog, or an ass, or on a camel as well as tile dream in which a man thinks, that he has been eating the flesh of a bird or has been, partaking of a fane composed, of rice, pulse, spices and oily substances, or sees that the sun and the moon have been dislodged from, their spheres in heaven, or that the flag-post erected in honour of the god Indra (Shakradhvaja) has been suddenly broken in the middle is inauspicious.
Similarly the dream in which a man thinks, that he has again been converted into a human embryo, and as such has again entered the womb of his mother, or has ascended a burning funeral pile, should be deemed as inauspicious. The dream in which a man sees that nature is oppressed with such disturbances, as earthquakes, falling down of meteors etc, or that he has incurred the wrath of his elders and superiors or of any other Brahmana, should be deemed as foreboding evil. The dream, in which a person thinks that he has been drowned in a river or that he has bathed in water saturated with cow-dung, or in cold water, or in water containing the solution of the five substances known as the Panchodaka, indicates evil. The dream in which a man thinks that he has been holding an unmarried girl in his embrace, or has been committing unnatural offence, or that be has undergone amputation in any part of his body, or that he has been purging or vomiting in sleep, predicts evil incidents.
The dream in which a man thinks that he has been on a journey to the south, or has been afflicted with fatal diseases, or that he has been plucking fruits or breaking metal pots, or has been sweeping the floor of a room, or that he has been playing with Pishachas, or Rakshasas, monsters or apes, or sees that the planets have been falling down from their respective orbits, should be deemed as the forerunner of evil times. The dream in which a man thinks that he has been insulted by others, or that he has fallen on evil days in consequence thereof, or sees himself clad in red clothes or has been playing with the same, or has put on a garland of red flowers or has been bespattered with the paste of red sandal, should be deemed as specifically inauspicious, and it is better not to speak of them to any body.
It has been advised in the Purana that a man should try to sleep over the effects of such evil dreams, which should be also remedied by an act of ceremonial ablution, by propitiating the Brahmanas, by pouring libations of clarified butter containing the seeds of sesame on the fire, by worshipping the gods Hari, Brahman, Lord Shiva, Gana and the sun-god; or by reciting the Vedic hymns of Purusha Sukta.
Agni Purana narrates that a dream, dreamt in the first quarter of the night, takes fruit within a year, while those dreamt in the second, third and the fourth watches of the night, produce their good or bad effects within six, three and a half month respectively, the one dreamt at the time of dawn being realised within ten days of its first having. Of two dreams dreamt in the same night, the latter should be deemed as likely to be realised, and therefore it is incumbent on a man not to sleep again after having had a good dream in a particular night.
The Purana has also explained in details those dreams which indicate fortune and good days of individuals. Like dreaming of having had climbed a hill or a mountain, or of a walk over the terrace of a palace, or of having ridden on a horse, on an elephant, or on a bull, as well as the one of a tree of white flowers blooming in the skies, and the one in which a man finds his body has been overgrown with trees and shrubs except at the region of the navel, should be deemed as auspicious. The dream in which the dreamer fancies himself as furnished with a large number of heads and arms, or sees that his hairs have been tinged with grey, or that he has been clad in white garments, or has been decorated with garlands of white flowers, are the harbingers of good fortune.
Similarly those dreams which are filled with visions of eclipses of the sun, the moon and the stars, of the fall or defeat of one`s enemies, of victory in a war, in a contest or at the dice table, of one-being drenched in the rain, or of taking possession of a plot of ground, should be deemed as indicating the advent of good days. Dreams in which a man fancies that he has been taking raw meat, drinking blood, porridge thickened milk, wine or spirituous liquor, or has been bathing in blood, should be deemed as of happy omens. Dreams of making passes with swords or of fencing on the ground as well as of sucking the udders of a cow, of a she-buffalo, of a mare, of a she-elephant or of a lioness or those filled with the visions of benediction by the gods and the Brahmatras or by one`s elders, superiors and spiritual guides, or of being sprinkled over with drops of water dropping down from the tips of the horns of a cow, should be looked upon as foreboding good.
The great Purana states that the dream in which a person fancies that he has been dropping down from the horns of the moon, or that he has been decapitated or duly installed on a throne, are realised with the acquisition of a kingdom. Similarly dreams filled with the visions of one`s death, of destruction of one`s house by fire, of royal rewards, or of playing of stringed instruments, are highly auspicious. Dreams of a horse, of an elephant, of gold, of a bull or of a royal visit, predict the increase of one`s relations.