Therefore, it is said that when one sees an auspicious dream, it is not wise to fall back asleep, for the blessings of such a vision are best preserved by wakefulness. If in your dream you ascend a mountain, a grand palace, or mount an elephant, a horse, or a bull, these are all favorable signs, promising good fortune ahead. Should you see trees with white flowers, or trees standing high in the sky, or even trees and grass sprouting from your own navel, these are auspicious omens. Likewise, if you find yourself endowed with many arms or many heads in a dream, or if you suddenly notice your hair turning gray, or see yourself adorned with pure white garlands and garments, these too are signs of blessing. Dreams in which you seize the moon, the sun, or the stars, or where you sweep the ground, embrace Indra’s banner, or raise a banner yourself, are all considered fortunate. Taking hold of the earth or a flowing stream, defeating your enemies, gaining victory in disputes, at gambling, or in battle—all these visions foretell success. If you dream of eating goat’s flesh or rice pudding, see blood, or find yourself bathing in blood, these are also auspicious. Drinking pure blood, wine, or milk, moving about on the ground with weapons, or seeing a clear, open sky are all favorable signs. Milking buffaloes, cows, lionesses, she-elephants, or mares with your mouth in a dream is a mark of coming good fortune. Receiving favor from the gods, from Brāhmaṇas, or from teachers, or being anointed with water or with substances flowing from the horns of cows, are all auspicious. If you fall from the moon in a dream, O Rāma, sovereignty is foretold; royal consecration or even the cutting of one’s own head can also signify the gaining of power. To dream of death, the acquisition of fire, fire burning in houses, the gaining of royal insignia, or being greeted with the music of stringed instruments—these are all omens of prosperity. If, at the end of a dream, you see a king, an elephant, a horse, gold, or a bull, it is a sign that your family will flourish. However, there are dreams and omens that bring sorrow. Climbing upon the roof of a bull’s house, a mountain peak, or a tree, smearing yourself with ghee or excrement, approaching a forbidden woman—these acts in dreams are to be lamented. Puṣkara then spoke of the omens encountered while awake. Medicines that are mixed, black or unwholesome grains, cotton, dry grass, cow dung, and wealth seen in certain ways can be inauspicious. Charcoal, jaggery, resin, those who are shaven or anointed, the naked, iron, mud, skin and hair, madmen, and eunuchs are all considered unfavorable signs. Outcastes, those who eat dog-meat, jailers, pregnant women, widows, oil-cake, and corpses are also inauspicious. To see husks, ashes, potsherds, bones, broken vessels, anything inauspicious, discordant musical sounds, or the clamor of terrifying howls, is to encounter ill omens. Yet, if someone calls out “Come!” from in front, it is auspicious, but not so if from behind. Conversely, “Go!” called from behind is excellent, but from the front, it is censured. Questions such as “Where are you going?”, “Stand!”, “Do not go!”, or “Why have you gone there?” are inauspicious, portending death, as do the sights of carnivorous animals and banners. The stumbling of vehicles, breaking of weapons, a blow to the head, being struck at the doorway, and the falling of umbrellas or garments are all ill omens. However, after worshipping and praising Hari, the Lord, the effect of inauspiciousness is destroyed. If a second inauspicious sign is encountered, one should enter the house by another way. Among auspicious things, white flowers are the best, and a full water-pot is most excellent. The sight of meat, fish, distant sounds, an old man alone, or an animal without skin is not favorable. But cows, horses, elephants, gods, blazing fire, fresh grass, wet cow dung, a courtesan, gold, silver, and gems are all auspicious. Words that fulfill their purpose, medicines, a seal, weapons and swords, an umbrella, a seat, royal insignia, and a corpse not accompanied by weeping are good omens. Fruits, ghee, curds, milk, unbroken rice, a mirror, honey, a conch, sugarcane, auspicious speech, food, musical instruments, and singing are also favorable. The deep rumbling of clouds and the mind’s satisfaction at the sight of lightning are auspicious, and above all, the satisfaction of the mind is considered the greatest sign of good fortune. Puṣkara further explained that while one is standing, setting out, or being questioned, omens reveal the auspicious or inauspicious, not only for the individual but for the land and the city as well. All omens that are blazing are said by those who ponder fate to bring evil results, while those that are calm are said by astrologers to bring good. There are six kinds of brilliance described for omens, each distinguished by time, place, action, sound, and type. Each preceding one is stronger than the next; an omen that appears at an unusual time—like a day-wandering omen at night, or a night-wandering one by day—is especially potent. In cruel signs, the bright omen is to be known at the rising of a constellation or planet, while the smoky omen is to be recognized when the sun is about to move. When present, the omen is blazing; when it has passed, it is considered fiery. These three are remembered as bright, and five others are peaceful. A bright omen in a particular direction is called a directional omen; in a village, forest, or wilderness, it is domestic, and so too when it is on a condemned tree. In inauspicious places, the place-bright omen is to be known; the ritual-bright omen appears when an act is improper for one’s own kind. The sound-bright omen is a discordant, terrifying cry; the species-bright omen is that of meat-eating creatures. From the bright omen, the peaceful is determined by careful distinctions; mixed omens yield mixed results, and their outcome, good or bad, must be discerned. Cows, horses, camels, donkeys, dogs, starlings, house lizards, sparrows, cranes, turtles, and others are known as dwellers of villages. Cats and chickens are domestic, yet may also roam the wild, and their recognition depends on their form and behavior. Among birds and animals, those with cattle-like ears, peacocks, chakras, donkeys, parrots, crows, kulaha birds, kukubha, hawks, pheruka, anjana, and monkeys are noted. Also, shataghnas, sparrows, blackbirds, hawks, francolins, partridges, butterflies, and three kinds of pigeons are mentioned. Thus, by observing dreams and omens with wisdom and reverence, one may discern the pathways of fortune and adversity, and act with care and devotion in the world.