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Art. XII.—The Buddhist Sources of the (Old Slav.) Legend of the Twelve Dreams of Shahaïsh

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Extract

The Old Russian literature took up the theme of the king, who gets the explanation of some miraculous dreams from a wise man, in two different versions. In the first of these versions, the dreams concern events in the king's life, and this version enters into the complex of Stephanit and Ichnelat, showing itself thus a pretty correct reproduction of the Indian original through the Pehlevi, Arab, and Greek over-workings. In the second version the dreams have an eschatological character, and this version appears as an independent tale, known as ‘Word (=legend) of the dreams of king Mamer,’ ‘Word of the twelve dreams of Shahaïsh,’ etc.: the nearest sources of this legend are yet unknown.

Type
Original Communications
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1893

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References

page 509 page 1 Cf. also the same author's and A. Galachov's ‘History of Russian Literature,’ i. 431; Polivka, G., ‘Opisi i izvodi iz nekoliko jugoslavenskith rukopisa u Pragu.’ Starine, 1889, xxi. 187–194 (Dvanajest snova cara Šahinšaha).

page 512 note 1 These words are not quite intelligible to us: sāmantikābhisheka would mean “anointing of the inhabitants (or kings?) of the neighbouring countries”; paçuka “cattle.” (In Sum. the eighth dream is explained thus: Impious king will reign.)

page 514 note 1 This probably alludes to the Chinese custom to visit the relatives after marriage.