astronomy

The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi

The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi rather than just read about it. In short: In Buddhist literature, the sixteen frightening dreams of King Pasenadi (Sanskrit; Pali Mahāsupina Jātaka) is notable topic of Buddhism and dreamt by the King Pasenadi of Kosala and their Interpretations by the Gautama Buddha. Buddha used Anāgatam Nyandaw (အနာဂတံ ဉာဏ်တော်) to visualise the nightmares.

Key takeaways

The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
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Reproduce the core statement of The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In Buddhist literature, the sixteen frightening dreams of King Pasenadi (Sanskrit; Pali Mahāsupina Jātaka) is notable topic of Buddhism and dreamt by the King Pasenadi of Kosala and their Interpretations by the Gautama Buddha. Buddha used Anāgatam Nyandaw (အနာဂတံ ဉာဏ်တော်) to visualise the nightmares. Then he explained that the nightmares are the terrible things that will happen in the future. When the time reaches after 2500 Sāsanā Years (သာသနာနှစ်) or circa 1957 A.D, the foretold events will take place. The pictures depicting the sixteen nightmares are found in some pagodas in Myanmar.

The 16 frightening dreams

First dream The four strong oxen, from North, East, South and West, came to fight against one another in front of the king. But when they are about to fight, they retreated instead. Meaning: "When bad people lead, the dark clouds came to rain, but just thunder instead, thus destroying certain crops and leading people to starve."

Second dream The young plants are bearing fruits. Meaning: "When people begin to have short lifespan, young people will marry and have kids even when they are below 18 years old." Mahārāja, imassā pi vipāko lokassa parihāyanakāle manussānaṁ parittāyukakāle bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi sattā tibbarāgā bhavissanti, asampattavayāva kumāriyo purisantaraṁ gantvā utuniyo ceva gabbhiniyo ca hutvā puttadhītāhi vaḍḍhissanti. Khuddakarukkhānaṁ pupphaṁ viya hi tāsaṁ utunibhāvo, phalaṁ viya ca puttadhītaro bhavissanti. "Great King, as a result of this, when the world is declining, the lifespan of humans will decrease. In the future, beings will have strong desires, and young girls, not having found partners, will go to men out of season, and they will grow up with sons and daughters. Like the flowers of small trees, their youthfulness will be short-lived, and like fruits, their sons and daughters will be few."

Third dream The female cow feeds on the milk of her child. Meaning: "When people stop respecting the elders, the parents will live with their children, for not having anyone to rely on." Imassā pi vipāko anāgate eva manussānaṁ jeṭṭhāpacāyikakammassa naṭṭhakāle bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi sattā mātāpitūsu vā sassusasuresu vā lajjaṁ anupaṭṭhāpetvā sayam-eva kuṭumbaṁ saṁvidahantāva ghāsacchādanamattam-pi mahallakānaṁ dātukāmā dassanti, adātukāmā na dassanti. Mahallakā anāthā asayaṁvasī dārake ārādhetvā jīvissanti tadahujātānaṁ vacchakānaṁ khīraṁ pivantiyo mahāgāviyo viya. Itonidānam-pi te bhayaṁ natthi, catutthaṁ kathehi, mahārājāti. This consequence will also occur in the future when respect for elders is lost among humans. In the future, beings will neither feel shame towards their parents nor their parents-in-law. They will only take care of their own households and will give even the bare necessities of food and clothing to the elderly only if they wish to, and will not give if they do not wish to. The elderly will live dependent on the goodwill of children, just as large cows live on the milk from calves born that very day. Because of this, they will have no protection.

Fourth dream A farmer is using young cows for transportation and abandons strong ones. Meaning: "People will hire young, inexperienced people in certain jobs, especially judging crimes. Not being able to work well, the young people will quit the jobs and old people will not reapply for their previous jobs, which leads to the demise of a country." Imassā pi vipāko anāgate eva adhammikarājūnaṁ kāle bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi adhammikakapaṇarājāno paṇḍitānaṁ paveṇikusalānaṁ kammaṁ nittharaṇasamatthānaṁ mahāmattānaṁ yasaṁ na dassanti. Dhammasabhāyaṁ vinicchayaṭṭhāne pi paṇḍite vohārakusale mahallake amacce na ṭhapessanti, tabbiparītānaṁ pana taruṇataruṇānaṁ yasaṁ dassanti, tathārūpe eva vinicchayaṭṭhāne ṭhapessanti, te rājakammāni ceva yuttāyuttañca ajānantā neva taṁ yasaṁ ukkhipituṁ sakkhissanti, na rājakammāni nittharituṁ. Te asakkontā kammadhuraṁ chaḍḍessanti, mahallakā pi paṇḍitāmaccā yasaṁ alabhantā kiccāni nittharituṁ samatthāpi: “Kiṁ amhākaṁ etehi, mayaṁ bāhirakā jātā, abbhantarikā taruṇadārakā jānissantī” ti {1.338} uppannāni kammāni na karissanti, evaṁ sabbathā pi tesaṁ rājūnaṁ hāni yeva bhavissati, dhuraṁ vahituṁ asamatthānaṁ vacchadammānaṁ dhure yojitakālo viya, dhuravāhānañca mahāgoṇānaṁ yugaparamparāya ayojitakālo viya bhavissati. This consequence will also occur in the future during the time of unjust kings. In the future, unjust and poor kings will not honor the deserving officials, those skilled in ancestral knowledge, and those capable of completing tasks. In the court of law, they will not appoint wise and skilled elders as ministers, but will instead bestow honor upon the opposite type, appointing young and inexperienced individuals in their places. These inexperienced officials, ignorant of what is right and wrong, will neither be able to sustain their positions nor complete the king's tasks. Failing to manage their responsibilities, they will abandon their duties. The wise and capable elder ministers, though able to complete the tasks, will think, ''What use are these tasks to us? We are outsiders; the young insiders will know what to do,' and will not undertake the tasks that arise. Thus, the kings will invariably face decline, much like when calves are yoked to carry a heavy load or when a series of oxen fit for heavy labor are not yoked together." Fifth dream

The horse with two heads eats wheat from two different containers instead of eating together. Meaning: Evil judges will take the bribery of both the defendant and the jurors, and they will decide the crimes however they want." Imassā pi anāgate adhammikarājakāle yeva vipāko bhavissati. Anāgatasmiñhi adhammikā bālarājāno adhammike lolamanusse vinicchaye ṭhapessanti, te pāpapuññesu anādarā bālā sabhāyaṁ nisīditvā vinicchayaṁ dentā ubhinnam-pi atthapaccatthikānaṁ hatthato lañjaṁ gahetvā khādissanti asso viya dvīhi mukhehi yavasaṁ. "This consequence will also occur in the future during the time of unjust kings. In the future, unjust and foolish kings will appoint greedy and unprincipled people to positions of judgment. These foolish individuals, disregarding good and bad deeds, will sit in court and make decisions while taking bribes from both parties involved in disputes, eating like a horse with two mouths."

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi

In research: The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 6th century BC in Buddhism, Buddhist cosmology, Buddhist mythology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi in simple terms?

Why does The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The sixteen dreams of King Pasenadi.